Last Christmas
by Babylawyer
Summary: Sequel to Rockin' Around, experience the 2019 Christmas season in real-time with Regina and Robin
1. November 30th

**TW: Allusions to child abuse**

* * *

She's been acting weird, cagey, aloof, and distant. It's making him nervous because at first, he thought it was just her feeling crappy, residual effects of that flu she caught, but that was over a month ago and her attitude hasn't changed, if anything it's gotten worse.

Every time he tries to bring up where they are going to live, solidify their plans for the future and that this is going somewhere, she clams up.

He is not one to be insecure in a relationship, but he feels it now. He keeps wondering if there's something she isn't telling him, if she's unhappy. As much as he trusts her to tell him if something is wrong, he cannot shut off this feeling he has that something is off.

He's paranoid she's going to break up with him, despite the fact that she has given no indication she will (aside from the distance, that is). But he's gotten the sense she wanted to tell him something on Thursday after Thanksgiving dinner, and she'd opened her mouth to do so, only to have Henry interrupt them looking for a bedtime snack. She'd never brought whatever it was up again, but he caught her more than once looking at him funnily after that.

Maybe this is all some odd way of trying to get him to come around to her side about where they should live, but he doesn't think so. The one conversation they'd had about where, after deciding to move in together, hadn't been all that serious and they'd decided to talk it all out later, but then she got sick and hasn't wanted to talk about it since then.

He just doesn't understand why she wouldn't want to live here. Sure, it could use some renovations and upgrading, but they could easily afford that. His grandfather built this place himself, and his uncle added the addition with a bit of his assistance back in the day. When he took it over, he always thought he'd add to it if his family needed, but they hadn't, so he didn't.

They hadn't talked much past realizing they both wanted the other to move, opting to express their satisfaction over their relationship moving ahead physically, and deal with the rest later. He'd been more than okay with that but now wonders if maybe that is the source of whatever is going on with her.

He's been hesitant to raise it with her because he knows she'll get defensive, and he wanted to make sure he wasn't just reading it all wrong.

He can't ignore how he feels any longer. Right or wrong, this is really, really bothering him, and if he doesn't talk to her about it, he's going to explode.

Plus, there's the ring, the one that's currently sitting in his dresser, hidden in a pair of woolly socks, that he was planning on using on December 8th, the anniversary of their first date. Before all of this, he'd been certain it was the right move. They haven't discussed marriage per se, but he'd thought they were on the same page, that they wanted to be together forever.

Now he's nervous, is second-guessing everything, is thinking he should have discussed it with her first, made sure they were on the same page. They were both married before, both had their hearts shattered when they were widowed, but he'd assumed she was open to a second chance, just as he is. Maybe he's wrong. Maybe somehow she found the ring and that's what's caused all of this.

But even if it was, why wouldn't she just talk to him about it? He loves her, so so much, but her tendency to bury things down and keep things to herself drives him fucking bananas. She's been doing well, and he really thought they were past it, that she'd come around to the benefits of being open. Miscommunications are dangerous and they've been victim to that more than once. They always talk the issue out after, but they've been working at, fairly successfully, avoiding the need to get to that point.

He hates that there are things she feels she can't share with him, for whatever reason, and he has an excessive reaction to it, he knows that. He just thinks she should know nothing she could ever say would make him love her less, and so, there is nothing to hide.

Secrets are an issue for them, he knows that, she knows that. And that's why his engagement plan may have been a bad idea. She doesn't really like surprises, but he'd thought this would be pleasant enough that it would cancel that out. God, what if she says no, or worse, wants to say no, but doesn't because she doesn't want to hurt his feelings?

He's done this all wrong.

Just over a month ago when he decided he was going to do this and planned it all out he didn't think so. Things have changed since then, and perhaps it's all him, all in his head, but he needs to know they are okay before he can think about going forward with his plan one week from now.

He's been trying to talk to her about it all weekend, to clear the air, but she'd rebuked him at every turn. Had even tried to cancel their plans tonight, with the excuse that they just saw each other. While that's true, they all had Thanksgiving dinner together on Thursday, it had been a bigger group, they hadn't been alone until later on. Then after Henry came down for his snack, she'd been ready for bed and that had been that.

He worked on Friday, put in a long day, and he's only going to get busier. This Saturday night is one of the last he will have at home until after the holidays. Thanksgiving being so late this year has messed things up a bit, but with tomorrow being December 1st he knows things will really start picking up. Tonight he's left the farm in Will, John and Henry's (less so) capable hands.

That's why he insisted on this night, despite her protests. This is one of his busiest weekends, then next Sunday is when he planned to propose, so if they don't do this now…

She looks tired when she arrives for dinner, and waves off his offer of wine, saying with her luck she'll fall asleep if she has it.

By the time they get Roland into bed, she looks positively beat, even though it's only eight-fifteen.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asks, as he walks down the hall. He had assumed they'd go downstairs to sit and talk for a while, but if she's not feeling well, perhaps they should just go to bed.

She nods, then pauses, and admits, "I'm just really run down, I haven't been sleeping well."

He has noticed that she's been going to bed earlier than normal, those rare times they've had sleepovers in the last month. Maybe that's why she's been avoiding him, so he stops to ask, "Is there anything I can do?"

She shakes her head, then starts down the stairs. "It will pass."

He has to ask, "Is that why you've been acting so—"

"How exactly have I been acting?" she bites off quickly, turning and glaring up at him from her spot at the bottom of the stairwell. Her temper clearly flares, and great, that's exactly what he wanted to avoid but sleep deprivation always gives her a short fuse.

So he doesn't say the comment on his tongue about how if she'd only let him finish his sentence she'd have known. Instead finishes his descent and says, "Something has been bothering you, love, I just want to help."

She bristles, telling him, "Nothing is bothering me," and starts toward the living room.

That is clearly untrue, and it annoys him that she won't just be honest with him.

Once she's sat down on the couch and he's settled in beside her, he asks, "Are we really back to that?"

You would think he had just condoned mass murder by the way she reacts. She's pissed now, he knows her well enough to know that from the faint pink colouring in her cheeks and the way she sucks in a sharp breath between teeth gritted shut. He really didn't want this to be a fight, but it seems it will be.

He's glad Roland is asleep and Henry's at work for the next hour, so they can have it out and get settled without their children knowing. It's why he wanted to do this tonight, he'd been hoping it wouldn't end in a fight, he's not surprised it has.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Yep, okay, this going to be terrible. "That I know you well enough to know when something is bothering you—"

"Maybe you should listen to what I'm saying. I'm fucking fine, Robin."

He wonders for a second if that's true, if this is all a result of his insecurity, but he doesn't think so, "The need to say 'fucking fine' suggests otherwise."

She blows out a long breath, her shoulders raising with it. "God forbid I'm tired _one_ day."

Okay no, that's not what this is about. "I'm not talking about just tonight. You've been acting differently since…" he tries to pinpoint an exact date, "around Halloween."

That's it, that's when it all got weird, when she came home from work all distracted. That's when everything changed. He needs to know whatever it is she isn't telling him, because whether she wants to admit it or not, whatever it is is causing problems between them.

"Can we not do this tonight?" she angrily pleads, "I'm exhausted."

"When else are we going to do it? I'm swamped at work, and it's only going to get worse. Then it'll be next weekend and the only day I'm off is Sunday. I'd like to enjoy our date that night, it's what's going to get me through the long week. I was planning on having something other than a fight to look forward to."

She sighs, and shifts in her seat. "I guess I can't avoid this forever. It's going to be obvious soon anyway."

"It's already obvious, love, at least to me. I know when something is bothering you and I want to help."

She shakes her head, "That's not what I meant."

She looks down into her lap, and she's hesitant and nervous in a way he's only seen her once before, and it terrifies him. Is she sick, like really sick?

He grabs for her hand, and tells her, "Whatever it is, it's okay."

She looks up briefly when he reaches for her, must see the concern in his eyes because she's assuring, "I'm not… it's not serious, well, it is, but…"

"Whatever it is we will get through it together." She bites at her lip, her eyes watering, and he reaches for her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "I love you."

"I, I love you, too. God, I'm just… baby, I'm scared," she admits as a tear runs down her face.

His heart breaks for her, for all she's been holding in. He wishes she hadn't, but he knows her, knows she needs time to process and does whatever she can to avoid what's bothering her.

"Talking about it with you… it makes it real, you know?" She looks up at him, her brow furrowed, her lips pursed, still teary. He presses a kiss to where she's wrinkled her forehead.

"I do."

He gives her time, even though he's anxious to know what it is. His mind is racing with possibilities, each worse than the next. She said it wasn't serious, but backtracked, so she can't have a terminal illness, right?

He's so scared but doesn't want to frighten her more, so tries to keep a brave face and give her the support she needs.

She lets out a long drawn out sigh and settles more firmly into the crook of his shoulder. Then she bites her lip, look up at him and says shakily, "I'm pregnant."

That's not at all what he expected. It's wonderful, he's so so happy. They are going to have a baby, he didn't think it was in the cards for them and they'd talked about how she didn't want anymore children, but somehow against all the odds it happened. He imagines Roland and Henry holding their newborn sister (it's a girl in his mind). She'd look like Regina, dark hair, dark eyes, a stunner who would take their breath away. He always wanted a big family, he wants to see Roland and Henry as brothers, wants to experience all those milestones again, but this time with a whole family. He was robbed of the happy newborn experiences with Roland because of Marian's death. The love he had for Roland got him through it, but it wasn't at all the joyous time it was supposed to be. Now they can have that, him and Regina. He's beyond excited, he's ecstatic. He gets so caught up in his excitement he forgets for a second her sombre mood.

He places his hands on her lower belly, where their baby is, and he's in awe. He looks up to find her crying and it all comes back. Shit, "Is there something wrong with the baby?"

"N-no…" she pauses to grab a Kleenex and blow her nose, "well, not that I know of…"

"But you aren't happy." Shit, she doesn't want the baby. She told him no more kids and he accepted it, but now that they have a little miracle he wants to keep it. God, does he ever want this baby, but it is her body, her decision. No wonder she's been pulling away.

She sniffles, shaking her head as more tears fall, then she brings a hand over her eyes and cries, "I'm a horrible person."

"Oh, love, no, no you aren't. You did everything you could to prevent this. I'm going to support you in whatever you want to do."

She lets out a little hiccupy sob at that, and stutters out, "I don't know what to do," before devolving back into racking sobs.

He pulls her into his chest, strokes her hair softly as he whispers soft words of comfort and lets her cry it out. He feels a sharp stab of guilt knowing she's been wrestling with this for at least a month, and that she was (rightly) concerned about his reaction. She knows him, knew he would be excited, and he can't imagine the inner conflict that that created. He wishes he had reacted better, had remembered she was sad and not jumped right into happiness. But he can't change how he reacted, all he can do is be there for her.

He feels a bit useless, he can't take away the pain she's feeling, knows all he can do is be supportive, but it doesn't feel like enough. He wants to be able to magically fix it, but that's not how the world works.

Eventually her sobs die down, and she looks at him through red-rimmed eyes. "Sorry…"

"Don't be sorry, love. You have every right to be upset. I'm sorry I made it worse for you."

Her eyes widen and she's shaking her head, "No, you didn't, I... " she sighs, "Can we finish this in bed?"

"Of course, whatever you need."

She lets her head fall onto his shoulder for a moment, "You are too good to me."

He plants another kiss on her forehead as he whispers, "No such thing."

She shakes her head at him, then groans as she stretches and stands up. He goes off into the kitchen as she goes up the stairs to grab them both a glass of water. When he enters the bedroom, she's already in the bed, changed into the pair of fleecy pajamas she keeps here. He sets his glass down on his side and passes her the other, then strips off his pants in search of pajama pants.

"Nice ass," she teases from the bed, but the delivery is a bit off, her tone not quite selling it. He sees the effort for what it is, a chance to break the mood, so he wriggles it for her, delighting when she laughs at him.

Once he's changed, he settles in beside her, sitting up with his back against the headboard. She cuddles up into his side and kisses him softly. They hear the door slam shut downstairs, and she chuckles as he shakes his head at Henry's vigour.

"It's a good thing we took this upstairs," she says, pulling the blankets up higher. He nods, debating whether he should go downstairs. He left all the lights on, but it's rare for them to be in bed this early, and they've always been downstairs when Henry got home from work.

She must know what he's thinking because urges, "Go, I'm too comfy."

He steals another kiss from her, then tells her, "Be right back."

He's back in less than five minutes, after ensuring Henry didn't need anything, and that he'll turn off the lights when he comes upstairs.

"Do you want anything else?" he asks, stopping in the doorway in case the answer is yes. "Chamomile tea, perhaps?"

"No, I'm good. Come back to bed."

He does as asked, and once they settle in, she sighs, "I don't _not _want the baby… it's… complicated."

He quells the hope that rises inside of him at that because maybe there is a chance they can have this baby after all. "Is there a way to make it less complicated?"

She lets out a long breath, "No, I would love that, but no. It's… I need to tell you why I didn't want to get pregnant in the first place. It's not really that I didn't want anymore kids, though I was more than content with how things were, and I don't relish the idea of that much sleep deprivation at this age. It's just…"

She pauses taking a long breath in, "It was easy with Daniel. He couldn't, so we never needed to have this conversation. He said we could use a sperm donor and I said I would rather adopt and that was that. Then with us, I'm forty-one, I had an IUD that was supposed to last me until menopause. I never once thought we'd be in this situation."

That makes him wonder, "Will that hurt the baby? Sorry, forgive my ignorance but did you have to get it out or how…"

"Normally yes, if you're pregnant and still have your IUD you'd have to get it removed but that wasn't what happened in our case. I, uh, apparently lost it, which has never happened to me before. I don't know when it happened, but it was gone when I found out I was pregnant. And hey, did you know about 75% of pregnancies over forty are unplanned? Doctor Whale told me that when I didn't believe him, as if it would be comforting or something."

Hold up, he has to ask, "Whale told you?"

"Yeah, I wanted to know what was wrong because of all that I know about him, I trusted him to be discreet. Not that that ended up mattering because I refused to accept his diagnosis and made him get another doctor."

He laughs, he can just picture it. "I'm sure he was thrilled with that turn of events."

"He knows I think he's incompetent, it was fine." She snickers as she admits, "He's been insufferable ever since, keeps waiting for me to apologize or admit he was right, which I won't do."

"Of course not."

"Anyway, I need to quit stalling. You know my mother is an awful bitch." Interesting segue, but okay, he nods. "Well, she wasn't always that way. She was a different person, until she had me…" Her voice cracks, "And she's never let me forget I ruined her life."

"Love, you didn't—"

"No, I did. Having me changed her _forever_. She had some sort of severe postpartum depression, she doesn't have a diagnosis, but that's what we think, what my dad and I did anyway. It wasn't really a recognized thing then. Her whole personality changed. She was once lovely and loving, then became what she is now. I… I can't bear… I never ever wanted to go through that. I c-an't… I'm _terrified_, Robin. The thought of that…"

He doesn't know what to say, he's only met Cora Mills once and he'd assumed she'd always been that way. "I, things are so different now, and you don't know that you'll get it. Even if you do, we'll all be here, me, Henry, Roland, we'll help you through it. She never got treatment, right?" He cannot imagine Cora Mills seeing a psychiatrist, though god knows it would do her a lot of good.

"She didn't but… she doesn't even know I that I know this, my father is pretty sure she tried to kill me when I was a baby."

"Jesus christ, that's…"

"He doesn't know for certain, he didn't see it, but he said he knew, and I believed him. I don't think I could survive that, Robin. You hear those stories of mothers who kill themselves and their babies, that could be me. I… I cannot take that."

"It was really brave of you to tell me all this." She makes a little noise disagreeing, and he shakes his head, "Seriously, love, that took so much courage. I don't… I'm not going to pretend I can understand what you are going through, but it doesn't change anything for me. I'm going to support you no matter what. More than anything I want you to be happy. I don't want you to have this baby out of some sense of obligation. You have to know, really truly, I am good with whatever you decide."

"Why aren't you running?" He raises a brow, "I just mean, you want more kids, you are being so good about this. It has to be killing you, and yet, you are being so good to me. I don't want you to humour my feelings, I want to know what you actually want."

"I was being serious. Yes, I would love us to have a baby, but not at that cost. I won't have you miserable for ten months and god knows for how long after. I love you, I love our family as is, I'm not going to be upset if you decide to terminate. I'll be there with you, I will hold your hand—"

"That's not what I want…"

He keeps his tone level and even, ensuring he doesn't sound at all hopeful, "It's not?"

"No, I like the idea of our baby, of growing our family. I'm scared shitless of postpartum depression, but if that wasn't hanging over my head, if I could somehow know for certain that wasn't going to happen, I'd be overjoyed. But that is not the reality of our situation, and so I'm stuck. I _hate this_, Robin. I hate that this has already robbed me of that joy you are supposed to experience. Most women are elated to find out they are pregnant, I wanted to throw up and bawled my eyes out in my office. It's been almost five weeks since I found out and it hasn't gotten any better, or it has, but this is supposed to be a time of happiness and I've felt next to none of that."

God, this is such a mess, and he is useless to fix it. "I'm sorry about that, I really am. I don't, I want to help, but I don't know how."

"What if it's not even that bad? You hear all these stories of mothers not loving their kids, of struggling with that. With Henry, from the moment I saw him, hell, even before that, once we knew he was ours, I loved him completely, but god, this baby... I don't feel that. I should feel that, but instead I am terrified and that's all there seems to be room for." She sighs, "I think, and god, I should have done this weeks ago, I should talk to Doctor Hopper."

"I think that's a good idea, do you want me to go with you?"

She's quick to reply, "No, I think I need to do this on my own, at least at first. It might be good to see him together, after."

"Whatever you need."

"You are…" she yawns softly, "so good to me. I really appreciate it. You've made this... I feel better now. I feel almost settled for the first time since I found out."

They should sleep, she's clearly tired, her body worn down from the effects of her pregnancy, but first, "You said you found out five weeks ago, how far along are you?"

"Oh, sorry, this week was twelve weeks, on Wednesday. That made it more real, you know? I made it over that hump, then all of a sudden it was like nature isn't making the decision for you, you actually have to deal with it. I know I should have told you sooner, I—"

"Love, it's fine, you told me now, that's what matters."

"I think…" she cuts off on another yawn, and he urges her to lay down with him. "Mmm, sorry, I'm exhausted lately. But we can't go to sleep, we need to figure this out."

"You don't need to make a decision now, take some time, think on it. You've been struggling with this for a while now, I don't expect you to have the answer right away and that's okay."

"But I don't want to be confused _anymore_, I want to have it all figured out."

He strokes her hair, "And you will, we will, in time, but don't rush yourself, love."

"But…" she starts and yawns again, then frowns grumpily.

"Go to sleep, love, it's been a long day," he urges flicking the lights off once she's nodded. He didn't want to cut off the conversation if she still had things she needed to say, but it seems he was right that she was done, that she just wanted it all figured out, which isn't going to happen in one night. She cuddles up into his chest, her breathing evening out as sleep starts to pull him under.

* * *

When she wakes up two hours later wide awake, she wishes they'd just stayed up and made a decision. Though really, how can there be a decision when she doesn't even know what she wants? She should figure that out, _needs_ to figure that out. She can't be in limbo any longer because it's killing her.

She should have told Robin sooner, talking about it helped, but she'd been worried, and rightly so, that he'd be ecstatic about the baby and she didn't (and doesn't) want to crush his dreams.

This would all be so much easier if there was some sort of guarantee she wouldn't have to go through what her mother did. Or even if she could just know it wasn't going to change her forever. She'd rather die than become cruel and unloving, become anything like her mother. She's always tried to be better than Cora Mills, not that it's a high standard to meet.

She loves Henry and Roland so much, and they are enough, she contented herself with their little family as is until life threw a wrench in all of it. Since then, amidst all the fear and pain, she's had moments of longing, of want. Every time she sees someone out with a baby or a young child, her heart skips a beat and she thinks about having that with Robin, imagines their beautiful baby, but then she reminds herself what's likely to happen and the fantasy fades away as she reins herself in.

What she wants is a simple, carefree pregnancy, where she can just be happy about the baby, but that was never in the cards for her. It's why she and Daniel adopted and why she told Robin she didn't want more kids. A conversation she now wishes they could revisit as his reaction makes it clear he was settling when he agreed, and that's not what she wanted. Or maybe he wasn't, maybe he was content with things as they were but now faced with the reality has changed his tune. It doesn't really matter, she knew he'd be happy about it and it made things even harder. She never ever expected to be in this position, was in a sort of state of shock for the first couple days because of it. Once that shock wore off, she was confused, terrified, and incredibly guilty because she knew Robin would want to keep the baby and that she shouldn't.

It was easy to convince herself to wait, to see if it even stuck before talking about it. But Robin's perceptive, which she loves most of the time but hates when she's trying to pretend everything's okay, and knew something was wrong. She'd taken to avoiding him, which he of course hadn't taken well, and made a huge mess of it all.

She really thought with a bit more time she'd know what to do, but she's been stressing over it for weeks now without getting anywhere, and her barely noticeable bump won't stay hideable forever. Robin was right, she couldn't stall anymore, she needed to tell him.

He didn't react in the way she thought he would, she knows he wants the baby, but he'd been much more supportive than she'd been imagining. She didn't think he'd understand why she shouldn't have the baby, no matter how much they might want it, but he did, which made things easier in some ways, but also harder in others. Easier in that she doesn't feel as much like she'll be letting him down if she didn't have the baby. There's less guilt when she thinks about that possibility. But it's harder in some ways now because she has to deal with that piece of her, the one that she keeps burying, that desperately wants to have this baby.

She should not have this baby, not with the risk, she should be happy with their little family as is. Robin's blessing, which she didn't need but wanted, should have made the decision for her, but it didn't.

Maybe that tells her everything she needs to know, but it doesn't feel like enough. She wants certainty, and she's so sick of this limbo. She wants a decision made now, but Robin was right, she shouldn't rush into it, no matter how much she wants to be done with her indecision. For a brief minute earlier she almost said let's do it, but that's crazy, or is it? It was just so easy to get caught up in Robin's excitement, to let that carry her. But even if she's considering it she cannot tell him until she's certain. She will not break his heart by dangling the possibility in front of him and then ripping it away, she can't do that to him. They can't tell the kids, can't tell anyone, not until she's certain. But she's going to start showing soon, she can't hide it forever, which is why she needs to make the damn decision already.

She and Robin can't even decide where they are going to live, how can they have a baby? Mind you, that's partially because she's been avoiding it, but still. There are a million reasons they shouldn't do this, and yet…

She sighs into the darkened room as she tries to come to some sort of conclusion and gets nowhere, _again_. She lets herself daydream about the five of them: her, Robin, Henry, Roland and a baby girl, and how nice it would be. Maybe it would all be okay, maybe she'd get lucky; her mother was young when it happened to her, and Regina's extensive research has shown it's more likely to happen to younger mothers.

But then what if she let go of the fear and it did happen, and she did something like her mother did. She would never be able to forgive herself. Is it really worth risking all the good things they have on this baby when so many things could go wrong? That one part of her is screaming that it is worth it, that this baby is worth it, is reminding her of all the moments she'll miss out on if she doesn't have the baby. She has to make peace with that one way or another, it's what's been keeping her up at night.

She needs a good night's sleep, needs to stop waking up and obsessing over this, needs the indecision to be over once and for all, but in a way where she can live with her choice, whatever it may be.


	2. December 1st

He wakes up to his phone alarm blaring, and Regina sitting up in bed, staring at him.

He silences his phone with his eyes barely open, then turns back to her and slurs, "Ya allrigh…" as he stretches out.

She nods, "I am, I'm better than alright."

"Yeah?"

She smiles softly, tell him, "I want to keep the baby," her tone growing warmer and smile going broader with every word.

She's practically beaming now, but he has to ask, "Are you sure?"

She nods, and a huge grin splits across his face as he sits up fully, pulling her into his arms. "We're going to have a baby."

Her eyes are shining as she tells him, "We are."

He kisses her, then says, "If you change your mind, we've only—"

"I won't—"

"But if you do—"

She shuts him up with a kiss, laughing a little as she breaks it to tell him, "It's going to be hard, have its challenges, but I want this with you, I do. You were right, we can work through it together."

He's so happy but he's a bit worried this is all for his benefit. He wants her to be sure, and it's a not a decision he expected her to make overnight. Did she even sleep?When he asks, she tells him, "No, not all night, but I woke up a couple times and got to thinking, and then about an hour ago…"

"You should have woken me."

"No, you shouldn't have to suffer because _I _can't sleep."

"But I was the cause."

She rolls her eyes at him. "Not you, the situation. And anyway, I feel so much better having talked about it, it's like a weight has been lifted. Robin, I actually feel happy now, excited about the baby. I hadn't felt that yet, it's amazing." He's beaming again, so relieved that she's no longer feeling so guilty and conflicted.

She goes on, "I should have talked to you sooner, I kept wishing Daddy was still around so I could talk it out with him, but you were right here, you were always right here. You're, god, I just love you so much."

"I love you, too." He does, so much, she makes him happier than he thought was possible for him. He had thought that he would never feel this way again after he lost Marian, and he was okay with it. He hadn't realized what he was missing until Regina showed him, and he's so grateful to have her, her son, and now their baby in his life.

They are trading sappy grins and slow kisses when he remembers the ring. He does _not_ want her to think it's because of all of this. He remembers watching a silly rom com with her, and her complaining when they guy proposed to his pregnant girlfriend, about how he should have done it before or after, so she knew it wasn't just because she was pregnant.

He doesn't know if the timing is right anymore but can't imagine waiting until after she has the baby. If anything he feels even closer to her now, wants to marry her even more.

He must have tensed up beside her because she asks, "What's wrong?"

"It's…" he doesn't want to say it's nothing, they got in that little row last night because of her insisting that same thing. Then he gets an idea. "I have to show you something, just a second."

"Okay then..." she mutters as he shoots out of their bed, toward the dresser where he's hidden the ring.

"It will only take a second," he says he rustles through his sock drawer, until he finds the fuzzy grey set he stashed the box in.

She's eyeing him curiously as he makes his way to her side of the bed, sitting down on the edge of it.

"I just need to show you something. I've had this for quite some time, and you need to see it now, so you know it's not because of all of this." He flicks open the ring box and her jaw drops. "I'm not proposing, not yet. And I won't if you don't want me to," he flips it back shut, "I just needed you to know it exists."

He stays there at the bedside as she blinks, clearly stunned. "I… when?"

"When what?"

"You aren't proposing _now_, so when?"

He laughs, seems all is well, so he gets off the bed and rustles through his dresser for clothes, setting the ring down on it. He'll need to take that with him to work today and hide it again once she's gone. "That is for me to know, and you to find out."

"I _suppose_ that's acceptable."

He's glad they are back to teasing, it's been a hell of a twelve hours, so many strong emotions. "You suppose?"

"Well, a near proposal then leaving me in bed alone is a little rude."

She has a point, though he really does need to get moving if he wants to eat and shower before opening the farm. He comes back to bed, kissing her softly, "Sorry, love."

"How about…" she starts leadingly, and oh, maybe it's worth it to be a little late just this once. " I join you in the shower, and bring by breakfast and coffee."

That's perfect. "You are amazing."

She stands, bussing his lips again, "No, you are, I seriously can't express how much I appreciate the support last night."

"Anytime, and I do mean that, day or night, I'm yours."

She chuckles softly and smiles at him, "Stop being so sweet or you are going to be late."

He's really not helping himself, but he can't help but remark, "Maybe I just need an incentive."

She brushes past him, her lips finding his ear, and whispering, "the faster you move, the faster I'll be on my knees taking you in my mouth…"

He's never stripped quicker, and when they emerge and dress he's breathless and has to run to work to make it on time.

When she brings him coffee and breakfast ten minutes later, she has the audacity to ask cheekily, "Worth it?" He nods, and she laughs, "Good. And oh, you forgot this on the dresser," she says pulling out the ring. Dammit, she distracted him and left him brainless, so he forgot to take it with him. He's not sure if that was the reason for the seduction or just a coincidence but it was worth it either way.

Since she's clearly seen it, he asks, "Is it okay? I can get another if you'd prefer."

She shakes her head, "Don't you dare, it's beautiful."

As much as he would love to spend all day chatting with her, he has customers, so he bids her goodbye and thanks her again for breakfast and the morning.


	3. December 8th

She's like a giddy child waiting for Robin to pick her up for their date. It's the one year anniversary of their first date, and she just knows tonight is the night. She got her nails done on Thursday after work, (imminent proposal and all), treated herself to a spa day on Saturday in preparation, then bought a new dress for the occasion. He hasn't told her where they are going, but it's Storybrooke, so the outfit is for sure too fancy, but she doesn't care, she looks hot.

She's been carefree and light since she woke up last Sunday after dreaming about their baby, of watching her grow up, and breezing through a lifetime of experiences in just one night. She woke up knowing what to do, she knew she wanted the baby, she wanted all those moments she dreamed of, and while Robin was right to ask her if she was sure and remind her that she could change her mind, she hasn't. The few times doubts have crept in, she thinks of all the things Doctor Hopper told her or she's managed to turn her mind to something better, to that ring, or the image of Robin holding their baby.

It's odd to have the thing you've feared for your whole life happen and not be completely freaked out by it. But as Doctor Hopper rightly pointed out to her, she wasn't afraid of having a baby, she was afraid of what might happen to her if she had a baby. She was treating a possibility as an inevitability, not allowing herself to be happy and using that as evidence of why she should be afraid.

She always thought she'd adopt more kids, never thought she'd have more (or one at all) but life works in mysterious ways.

They need to tell the kids, also need to figure out where the hell they are going to live. They've let that conversation sit for far too long. She knows Robin has a huge attachment to his house, but it's not big enough, especially with the baby on the way, and she _hates_ his kitchen. It's the least functional space she's ever seen, so clearly designed by a man who didn't give a shit about cooking.

But she's not worrying about things like that, they both have tomorrow off, so they can spend the day figuring it all out and can tell the boys when they get back from school. Tonight is all about them. Henry and Roland are at Robin's with John, so they have this house to themselves after Robin takes her for dinner and wherever he's proposing.

She had wondered if the thrill would wear off as the week went on, but it hasn't, and if anything it has only made her more excited. She never thought she'd have this again and never thought she'd be happily carrying Robin's baby. It's only been a week since she made her decision, and she's barely looked back, which tells her she made the right call. She hasn't seen much of Robin, it's a busy time for him at work, but he's texted and called her constantly, is always checking up on her and offering love and support. It's part of why she proposed taking tomorrow off after it became clear they wouldn't be able to see each other for longer than an hour this week, outside of this date. She wants time with him and she's not likely to get it until the holidays are over.

She is really looking forward to their date. Robin is going to love this dress, it's tight across her now heaving cleavage, and looser around the waist in a way that doesn't show off but also doesn't hide her little bump. If you didn't know, you wouldn't think she was pregnant, which is what she was going for, with the added bonus of letting Robin see the bump, which he's been rather obsessed with. She debated on bare legs, but opted for a pair of black tights because she's not sure how much time they are going to spend outside and doesn't want to freeze. If she had her way it would be none, but it's snowing lightly, which is quite romantic, and Robin loves to go for walks in the snow.

It's for that reason she wears her not as cute but far more practical boots. She wants to be prepared for whatever he has planned and enjoy every moment. She thinks back for a second on their first date, one year ago today, on her similarly empty house and how different her intentions were that night. Then she had no intention of letting him in, whereas tonight she's planning on taking advantage of the empty house.

They haven't had sex since she found out she was pregnant, she had no desire, felt too gross and also didn't want him to figure it out. But she's finally been able to sleep better this week, and most of her nausea and sluggishness has abated. She feels sexy for the first time in ages, and she wants to take full advantage. Plus there's that ring, and they can't not have sex to celebrate their engagement.

He rings her doorbell instead of walking in, which she finds a bit odd, up until she opens her door and discovers him with a bouquet in hand, just like their first date. God, she loves what a sappy romantic he is. He's clad a light grey suit and looks fantastic. He smirks as she takes him in—he knows how much she loves him dressed up like it. They share a soft but lingering kiss in greeting, and she grabs a vase for the flowers, which she sets on the table in the entry.

"They are beautiful," she tells him, claiming his lips again.

"As are you," he says, his gaze raking over her form hungrily. "Now, let's get going."

"And where are we going?"

"I thought we'd go back to Linguini's, just like our first date."

She smiles, tells him it sounds lovely, but hopes that's not where he's going to propose. She hates public proposals, but he has to know that, right? She's been quite vocal about it. They make their way hand in hand to his beat up truck she's actually become quite fond of—not that she'd ever admit it—and he helps her in, before getting in the driver's side. When he starts it up, _White Christmas _is playing, her favourite Christmas song.

He already knows it but still she tells him, "I love this song."

"I know, that's why I picked it."

It's only then she realizes he has his phone hooked up. She can never resist a joke at his truck's expense, "Did you make a little CD?"

"Ha, ha, it's on my phone."

"I wasn't aware this thing could handle that, are you sure it will keep working?" she teases, and he shakes his head.

"You love this truck, admit it."

He laughs at her when she swears she never will and they tease back and forth until they arrive at the restaurant.

Once inside, the host takes them to their seats and she learns Robin had even arranged for them to be in the same booth. In a lot of ways this date progresses like the first, without the wine of course, but she orders the same thing (always orders the same thing), and they trade not-so-sly glances and bold flirtations as the sexual tension percolates between them. She tries to figure out where he has the ring stashed, but wherever it is, it's well hidden.

She's radiantly happy and it shows, she can't maintain her usual level of sass or her biting wit because she can't tamp down the smiles every time she thinks of him proposing. Robin is equally smiley and lovesick, keeps giving her these soft smiles that make her insides melt. She doesn't think they've traded this many words of affection since they first shared their feelings, and normally it would be too much for her, but tonight it's perfect.

The food is excellent as always, and when Robin suggests they skip dessert she internally sighs with relief that he's not doing it here. She checks him out shamelessly as they wait for the bill, causing him to ask, "See something you like?" in that low stirring tone she's so fond of.

"Yes, you."

He laughs, "I have quite the view, too. God, every time you lean forward, that dress…"

She smirks, that had been her intention after all, it's always nice to know it worked. "Like it, do you?"

"I _love _it," he lowers his voice so only she can hear, "can't wait to get it off of you."

Her cheeks flush, and oh yes, she too, cannot wait for that. "What makes you think you'll get so lucky?"

"Instinct," he remarks casually, breaking the eye contact as their server nears with the bill. He takes care of it despite her protests, then he's passing her her coat and suggesting, "How about a little walk?"

Her anticipation flutters, and her heart warms, this is how he's going to do it. She cannot stop smiling as they walk out of the restaurant, wondering how he's going to do it, if he'll just drop to one knee or have a whole speech prepared. She thinks he'll say something, will probably make her cry with his sweet words, and she cannot wait.

"It's crazy," he starts as they walk down a side street, walking hand in hand, and oh, this is it. "That one year ago today I picked you up for our first date, that we had dinner at that same spot, then walked down this same road."

She nods, not trusting herself to say anything without crying. She doesn't want to ruin this moment, the light is low, only illuminated by a few street lights, and the snow is gently falling. It's so romantic.

"All I could think about that night was kissing you, hoping to God you were having as good a time as I was. I never dreamed we'd be here today, happily in love, that we'd become a family so quickly. It happened so seamlessly, one minute you were meeting Roland and helping him skate, and the next we were trading Christmas gifts, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I think part of why we work so well is because of that, because we've been able to bring our families together. We're both parents first, and seeing you with Henry, seeing how you interact with Roland, seeing you parent _our _boys makes me love you even more."

Something about the way he says "our boys" makes her eyes water. He's said it before, as has she, but it feels more real in this moment, right before he asks her to spend her life with him.

He stops for a second, pulling her into his arms and kissing her. His arms wrap around her back as hers find his neck. He pulls away after a moment smiling down at her, keeping his one arm around her as he turns and continues down the road, "Now we've got a new one on the way, and I am so excited for this new chapter of our lives. We were a family already, and now we'll be a bigger one. I am so excited to live together, to spend every day for the rest of our lives waking up in our home, with our kids."

They round the corner heading down main street, circling back to the truck. She waits for him to ask, but it seems he's stopped talking and she can't understand why.

When they get close to the truck she asks, "Don't you have any more to say?"

He looks at her curiously, but there's an impishness in his eyes he can't quite hide. "No, I think that covers it."

"I… what?"

They've reached the truck now and they stop, as he feigns confusion, "Ready to go home, love?"

"I… aren't you…"

"Aren't I what?"

He knows what she means, she knows he does he's too amused not to. Damn him, he faked her out. What a jerk. "Never mind," she grumbles, opening the door and getting into the truck, cursing herself for getting so caught up.

His Christmas playlist starts up again, this time playing _Holly Jolly Christmas_, his favourite, and she has the horrible thought that maybe he's waiting until after the holidays to do it. It won't be a Holly Jolly Christmas if he does that. He can't do that, can he? That's too mean after showing her the ring. He cannot expect her to wait that long. She really thought tonight was the night and if he hadn't ruined the surprise when she revealed her pregnancy (which she loved) she's sure it would have been now.

She starts to think of when else he might do it, which is not what she should be doing as he obviously wants it to be unexpected, but she can't help it.

She's so caught up in her thoughts she doesn't realize they aren't headed back to her place until they reach a darkened road that makes her ask, "Where are we?"

"You'll see," he tells her, and she's not so sure. She doesn't recognize where they are, isn't even sure they are on a road at this point. There is barely any light and they are driving on unplowed snow. There are no reference points that would give her the slightest clue where they are. Robin makes a turn, then slows to a stop and she still has absolutely no idea where they are.

He shuts off the car and she waits for him to grab her door for her. It's pitch black and she doesn't want to fall getting out, so she seeks out the hand he offers when he comes around. They take a few steps in, and when her vision slowly adjusts, she realizes they are at the back corner of his farm surrounded by tall evergreen trees. He releases her hand for a second, leans down and then all the trees around them light up in beautiful silvers and golds from lights he'd string around them. She gasps as she looks around, taking in the incredible scene he obviously spent a lot of time on.

_This _is it.

Sure enough, when her gaze returns to him, he grabs her hands in his, smiling broadly. "Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes, that's how long it's been since we went out that first time, and I have relished every single one of those moments I got to spend with you. You challenge me, you make me laugh, you make me cry, I love you more than I ever thought I would love anyone other than my son. Regina, you are my future, and I know it's only been a year, but when you know, you know, and you are it for me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you so, so much, more than I could ever express in words. So, Regina Ann Mills, will you do me the great honour of marrying me?"

He's lowered himself to one knee, holding that beautiful ring up, the single stone glimmering as the light from the trees reflects off of it.

She sniffles, overcome with love and affection, and his words. She's left her speechless but she knows she needs to say it and manages to breath out "Yes."

At that he slides the ring onto her finger as her heart explodes. She's so happy her cheeks hurt from how broadly she's smiling. They are going to get married, are going to spend the rest of their lives together. It's amazing. As he stands back up, she pulls him in for a passionate kiss, trying to throw all that she feels into it.

When they break apart, both breathless from the intensity, she stares down at the ring in awe. It's so pretty on her finger, and she doesn't think she'll ever tire of seeing it there. She looks from it to him and he's beaming, scoops her up into his arms, twirling her around as he remarks, "We're getting married."

She giggles as he does, smiling down at him, "We are. I love you so much."

"And I you," he says, setting her back on her feet, "I cannot wait to be your husband."

He kisses her then, his lips crashing against hers eagerly in a kiss she returns with equal fervour.

As much as she's enjoying this scene, she wants him, and knows it's mutual, so when they part again she whispers into the space between their lips, "Take me home, _fiancée._"

He groans softly, dropping his head onto her forehead for a second, his hands on her ass squeezing for a second then releasing as he steps back.

He takes her hand and they practically skip back to the truck. She feels like she's walking on a cloud, is giddy and giggly as they drive back. She can't stop looking at the ring on her finger, and every time she does, a little thrill runs through her.

"I'm so happy," she tells him for about the tenth time as they near her driveway, then repeats another thought she's voiced several times, "It's so pretty."

Robin doesn't seem to mind the repetition, seems just as lovestruck as she is and tells her again, "Good, I'm so happy you like it. I love you."

"I love you, too," she tells him as he pulls in her driveway. This time she doesn't wait for him and gets out of the truck herself, meeting him in front of it. She pulls him in for a kiss, blindly leading them toward her stoop as they make out heavily. Her driveway is fully illuminated by her sensored light, but if they neighbours can see, she doesn't much care what they think because she and Robin are getting _married._

She starts to turn to punch in the code to unlock the door but Robin stops her, his face pulling back ever so slightly, his body still pressed into hers. She doesn't know why he's stopping her, she wants them inside, now, wants to fuck him into the ground wearing nothing but the ring.

But his hand brushes lightly over her face, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, the moment going surprisingly tender. "This is where I kissed you for the first time. God, did I ever want you that night. The anticipation, the whole night spent wanting you… That was the best date of my entire life, until now. I just wanted to take a second to remember that moment."

He's such a sap, but he's her sap (forever now), and she wouldn't have it any other way. She loves when he's like this, meets his lips for a soft kiss reminiscent of their first, but one that heats quickly and ends with her panting and pressed uncomfortably against the door.

This time when she turns to open the door, he lets her, and her mouth goes dry as his lips find that sensitive spot on her neck, sucking gently and making her forget what she's doing as a quiet moan falls from her lips.

She focuses back on her task, because she wants more of that, wants more of him, wants him naked, now. She's good and wet, already ready for him and they've barely begun. The fact that he's just proposed and that he's told her he wants to spend his life with her makes it all more intense, has her lighting up more quickly than normal. She's just so happy, so full of love for him and she wants to express it in every way possible.

As soon as they are inside, she presses _him_ against the door, kisses his neck, makes him moan and buck his hips into her. He's hard, and it thrills her, has her pushing his jacket off, unbuttoning his shirt as they continue to make out heatedly. They should savour this round, should take their time since they have the house to themselves, but she needs him, needs to feel him inside her, won't survive extended foreplay.

He seems to be just as desperate, his hand fiddling with the zipper of her dress, pushing it off until it pools on the floor, exposing her bare chest, and he groans. Her bras don't fit well anymore, and she knows how he loves discovering her braless. "You're so sexy, love."

That just makes her want him more, and fuck it, she's taking him, right here, in her front entry, because she can.

She fiddles with his belt as his lips traverse her neck, and she snakes a hand into his boxers as soon as she has his pants undone, pulling out his cock and stroking it firmly.

"Fuck, love," he breathes and it sends a shiver down her back. She loves when he sounds like this, when he's desperate for her. She's not faring much better, especially not when he grabs her, hoisting her up as he steps out of his pants and setting her down on the table. The flower he gave her are on the other end and they should move the vase just to be safe, but then he's kissing her again and she's lost to him, can't bother to be practical or think of anything other than how much she loves him and how badly she wants him. He rips off her tights, and his lips descend her chest as her nipples tighten with anticipation. She cries out her back arching and eyes rolling back when his tongue flicks over one, his hand attending to the other. It feels incredible and she uses her left hand to keep him there, to encourage him to suck harder. She flicks her eyes open as she gasps her pleasure and catches her ring shining as she does, which amps everything up even more.

She is a whimpering pool of need, and the delightful attention he's paying her breasts adds to the throbbing between her legs. She wants everything, all at once, wants him to keep doing this, wants his tongue on her clit, his cock inside her. God, she needs to come, needs to relieve the aching pressure that is consuming her. She's so so wet, more than ready for him.

"In—insside," she pants when he switches sides, and he brings a hand down to rub over her clit, not exactly what she meant, but she throws her head back and moans loudly at the pleasure from the firm circles and delicious pressure where she needs it most.

But she's so empty and clenches on a particularly satisfying swirl where she's longing to be filled. She needs to feel something inside her, cannot wait another minute, is too riled. He starts to kiss down her stomach, and she knows where he's headed. Normally she'd never turn down his mouth, but she's dying to feel him. "God, baby please, want you inside me."

He stops at that, groaning into her skin, "Let me go down on you first."

"After," she commands breathlessly.

He rises and claims her lips in a passionate kiss, while simultaneously divesting her of her underwear. When he's done he asks, "You don't need more?"

She almost laughs, because she is soaked, she is so fucking turned on she's going to go off like a rocket as soon as he's inside her.

She guides his hand down between them, moaning at the contact. He groans, "Christ, love," when he realizes how wet he's made her, dipping a finger inside and making her clench.

"Fuck me, _please_."

She doesn't have to ask again, he cants her hips toward him, taking a second to step out of his boxers. He's still in his socks and his undershirt is still on, so she pushes it up and pulls it over his head as he grabs himself and slowly pushes inside her.

They both let out throaty moans as he fills her. His hands are on hips squeezing, she loves that, and he breathes, "God, you feel amazing, so hot and wet, soaked, feels so good on—oh god."

"You—fuck like—too," she tells him as he starts to thrust. She wiggles a little, finding the right angle, so he hits right against her g-spot with each rap of his hips. Fuck, that's it, and she tells him such. Then he really starts taking her, quick and deep, as she babbles about how good it feels and he drives her up and up.

Just this is enough because he's hitting her fucking perfectly, and it's god damn hot, that when he brings his thumb to her clit she pushes him away. That hand goes back to her hips and yes, this is so hot, fuck.

"Are you going to come?" he asks, his mouth on her neck making her shiver, "Just from my cock?"

She moans, stuttering out a hissed, "Yess," as her orgasm builds. It feels incredible, he's incredible, god, she loves him, loves how he makes her feel. Oh god, it's _good_. She brings his mouth back to hers for a heady kiss and moans into it as another punch of pleasure hits her.

"Fuck, I'm so close," she pants, and she is, she's right there, about to fall off the edge.

"Love you so much, come for me, come on my cock."

She grabs at his shoulders, anchoring herself as she feels an onslaught of intense sensation, god, she is right there, so fucking close. "Just like that, d—oh god—don't stop."

"Never," he pants, and he looks so attractive, she loves him so much and oh god, this is fucking fantastic. This should never end, she feels, oh god, oh _god._

She catches a glimpse of the ring on her hand clasped against his shoulder, and she shudders and spasms as pleasure burns through her. She gasps as she falls off the edge, coming hard, ecstasy pouring through her veins as all the tension releases. It's intense and wonderful, and she's barely come down when her arousal spikes up again, driven by his careful measured thrusts. He's slowed a bit, letting her come down, but she doesn't need it.

"God, that was… Mmm, rub my, oh—"

He understands her half direction, and his thumb finds her clit as he groans, "I—oh fuck, mmm—need to feel you come ah-gain."

"God, yes, fuck, don't stop," she commands as he firms up his circles on her clit and everything skyrockets. Jesus, fuck, that's it, that's perfect. She's babbling again, losing control of her mouth to the pleasure of him, of this.

He's biting his lip, no longer looking down at them coming together, and his pupils are blown, his cheeks red. He's so fucking sexy, and hers, god, does he ever feel good.

"Fuck, close, can't," he stutters, and that just makes everything hotter. She knows he's holding on for her, that's he's fighting off his orgasm with everything he has to ensure she gets another. She's close again, desperately needs to come _again._ He's doing everything he can to make that happen and it's working. It's not thirty more seconds before she feels orgasm swamp her and hears his relieved groan as he starts to come inside her. Feeling him come amps everything up, makes the blissful relief running through her feel even stronger.

She's still consumed by pleasure when he whimpers, "I love you," as his thrusts stop and he leans into her, his breath ragged.

"I love you, too," she whispers when she regains the ability to speak. Then they are kissing, soft slow afterglow kisses so full of intimacy and love she wants to cry.

He grabs her hand, bringing the ring to his lip and placing a soft kiss on it, and she can't handle it, it's too much. She's feeling so much, all good, but it's overwhelming how incredibly happy she feels right now, how close she feels to him.

All she can do is tell him that she loves him again and fight not to cry when he says it back. She feels so much for him and is so lucky to have him.


	4. December 9th

He's engaged, again, and expecting a baby, he can't believe he's so lucky. They'd expressed their excitement over their impending marriage sexually repeatedly last night and this morning. Now, as they eat breakfast he has coffee he knows she's jealous of, he can't wait to start their life together. He doesn't want to spend one more night in separate places. His house needs renovations, he knows that, and he can finish them before the baby comes, he just wants to make sure Regina's okay with that.

He waits until she's finished breakfast to make his proposal, "I was thinking, what if Roland and I moved in here for now." Her eyes light up but dim a bit at the for now. "I have a plan, if you'll humour me."

She nods, so he goes on, "I want to keep my house, I know it needs work, I want it to be _our house_, and that means we'd design it, turn it into your dream house. I was thinking Henry could take the basement. It's finished, I just had no use for the space so I only had the laundry down there, which yes, is a pain, I know, we can move that upstairs or something." He's getting off track, "Anyway, what I'd like to do is redesign it, make it perfect, then once that happens you can make the call, here or there."

She wrinkles her nose in that way he finds absolutely adorable, "You want me to move with a newborn. Are you crazy?"

He shakes his head, no, he is not _that _crazy. "God, no, I'll have it done before then, we'd move in before the baby, if you choose there, if not we'd stay here."

"I… wow, that's…" He really likes this plan, but worries as she pauses, "perfect."

He breathes a sigh of relief, as much as he wants to keep his house, he wants her to be happy, but he really thinks he can accomplish both, he just needs the chance.

"Would it be over eager to start moving our stuff today?" he asks.

She chuckles, "Perhaps, but I, for one, enjoy over eager."

"Good, so that's settled. Now onto my next question: when do you want to get married?"

She smiles, "My my, cutting to the chase already."

"You _did say _you liked over eager."

That grin broadens, "Mmm, I did, and I do."

That didn't answer his question. "So, when?"

She ponders it for a second, her face going pensive, "Well, sometime after the baby comes, I don't want to look fat when we get married, also don't want to be all sleep-deprived from a newborn…"

"That seems like way too far in the future."

"Well, weddings take time anyway. We can't land an exact date, but a couple of years from now."

She _cannot_ be serious. "I don't want to wait that long."

"I'm sorry, but we're going to have to. We'll be in no state to wedding plan when the baby is first born, so by the time we plan and make it all happen…" her hand does a little flip as she trails off.

He realizes with stark clarity, "I don't want to wait for the baby to come."

"You really are crazy," she says, shaking her head, and maybe it's true but…

"We should get married this year."

She laughs incredulously, "Robin, it's _December_."

"Yeah, the most wonderful time of the year."

"You _can't _be serious!"

"I am, though." He doesn't know how to get her on board with this, but maybe if he tells her what's in his head she'll come around. "Think about it. Just us and the boys... we can get a minister, maybe the 27th, and then we ring in the new year as a married couple."

"That's two and a half weeks away."

"So?"

She covers her face for a second, letting out the huff of air he can't decipher the meaning of, "Do you know anything about wedding planning?"

Not really, to be honest, he did next to nothing for his first wedding, but he doesn't want a big tada, wants a quiet affair, just them and their boys, maybe their closest friends, but even that doesn't matter to him. As long as he has her and the boys he's happy.

"What's there to know, I want to marry you, with our boys there. How complicated is that?"

She snickers at him. "You are so lucky I also don't want a big wedding."

He realizes his mistake, "What do you want? God, sorry, love."

She smiles, and her hand reaches out for his as she assures him it's okay. "Something like that actually, small, intimate. I did the big wedding before, and it was great, but I want to do things differently now, just close friends."

"So the 27th then?" he teases, already knowing she's going to say no before she does.

"Nice try, I'd never find a dress in time, so forget that."

"What do you think of a winter wedding though?"

She ponders it for a minute, "I think that would be amazing, so next December then."

He sighs, "What about in January or February?"

"No, I will be way too pregnant by then. The earliest you are getting is December 2020."

He really doesn't want to wait that long, but oh well, it's not two years from now at least, so they have compromised. The baby will be six months old by then, and it would be cute to see them all dressed up for the occasion, to have the whole family in a wedding photo.

He's still going to try to talk her into this year if he can, but he's not holding his breath. They spend the rest of the morning talking about the wedding, the baby, and which one of those they should share with the boys first. Then they head to his place and pack enough stuff so he and Roland will last until the weekend. He'll pack up the rest once work slows down.

* * *

Roland does not take the news well at all. It started off so well, they all had dinner together, then he and Regina explained they were all going to live here, for now, and that they were getting married. Both the boys had been excited, Roland especially so (he'd been the one who kickstarted this by asking casually a couple months ago why they didn't all live together). There'd been a pause where Henry admired the ring, which Roland then had to do as well. But as soon as they mentioned the baby, Henry smiled, then after a moment went a little green but told them congrats, and all the while Roland said nothing.

When he does open his mouth, it's with a whiny wail Robin hasn't heard from him in ages, "But but but but I don't wanna…" as his chin wobbles and he starts to cry, repeating no baby over and over.

His heartbreaks that his son is so upset. It's thrown them for a bit of a loop, and now he's trying to comfort his son, but he really doesn't know how. He's holding Roland in his arms and Regina and Henry slink out of the room to give them some privacy.

He continues to stroke Roland's hair and waits him out until his cries go softer.

"No baby, Papa, please," Roland pleads.

"But why?" he asks, not entirely surprised when Roland just shakes his head in a vehement no. He feels like a failure, Roland loves other kids, had been so fascinated by David and Mary Margaret's little girl when they went to visit her, and he'd just assumed he'd be thrilled. He hadn't counted on anything other than a positive reaction so he hadn't prepared himself. If anything he'd been prepared for a million questions about how babies were made—they'd bought an age appropriate book to help with that. Robin had also downloaded one of those what size is your baby apps, and they'd grabbed a lime from the grocery store in case he wanted a physical representation. They'd been so sure it would go well that they hadn't looked into what to do if things went wrong and now his son is paying for it.

He doesn't know how to help Roland, does not understand where this is coming from, and it breaks his heart.

He strokes Roland's hair and tells him he loves him as Roland sniffles into his shirt.

"I want it to be just us, Papa," Roland whispers, hiding his face into Robin's shirt.

"I thought you were excited to live here, with Henry and Regina."

Roland looks up at him, his brown eyes red rimmed. "Yeah, just us, the four of us, no baby."

He juts out his lip in a pout and Robin worries he's going to cry again, but it seems the waterworks are over. "Why don't you want a baby, Roland?"

"We already have a baby, me, I'm the baby brother."

"But don't you want to be a big brother?'

"No, I wannabe the little brother. The littlest."

He has absolutely no idea why this is so important to him, but he humours it, unsure of what else to do. "You know, you could still be the little brother, the baby could be a girl."

"But not the littlest," Roland whines, and Robin does have to give him that.

"That's true, but being a big brother could be fun. Look at Henry; he became a big brother to you this year and he loves it, you might too."

Roland shakes his head forcefully. "No, never. I hate the baby. It's not fair."

"You don't hate the baby—"

"I do!" he yells. "I hate it, I don't want a little brother or sister."

Henry enters the room then, announcing himself with a, "Hey, Ro, Mom's going to make cookies, and there's a gingerbread house we can decorate while we wait for the cookies, doesn't that sound fun?"

That's one of Roland's favourite things, a perfect distraction, but his son isn't having it, "No."

"But Roland, you love making cookies, and then we get to eat them."

Roland perks up a little at that part, sighing dramatically as he tells them, "Okay, fine," and gets up off of Robin's lap to follow Henry into the kitchen.

Robin takes advantage of the time and immediately googles, "What to do when your son doesn't want to be a sibling."

His research is both helpful and not, but he feels a little more prepared to talk it out with Roland when he goes into the kitchen. Things certainly have changed in the last twenty-five minutes. Roland is laughing with Henry as they decorate the roof of their gingerbread house and all seems to be fine. He can tell immediately which pieces Roland decorated over Henry. Henry's are very artistic, intricate lines drawn, where Roland's are just covered in icing with random candies stuck around. Roland appears to be instructing Henry on how to do the roof, which Henry is taking like a champ. He loves how patient Henry is with Roland.

He looks up and trades glances with Regina, but she shrugs clearly just as oblivious about Roland's mood change as he is. He's not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so he joins in the festivities, frees Henry from Roland's "instructions" by picking up the other piece and letting Roland tell him how to do it.

Once the house is all assembled, the cookies are ready to be decorated. She made gingerbread men, and they use the left over supplies (Regina had bought extra) to decorate some of the men, all making one of their own. Roland decides that those four are them, that it's their whole family, and Robin bites his tongue but lets it go.

It's getting close to Roland's bedtime, but when Roland requests Frosty, neither of them are willing to deny him. It's only twentyish minutes anyway, so it won't be too late, and he had sugar closer to bed than he's usually allowed, so he will probably be hard to get to sleep anyway.

He wants a story from both of them, so up they go, Regina helping Roland pick out his jammies for the night. He wants "Snow" again, which they both have practically memorized because he's been asking for it almost every night since the first snowfall, which came early this year.

As they start the story, Roland interrupts with a soft, "When do we stop doing stories?"

"What do you mean, sweetheart?" Regina asks.

Roland looks down at the book, "Once the baby is here we can't do stories or snuggles anymore."

Robin rushes to reassure, "Of course we can still do stories."

"No, we can't, you'll be with the baby." He looks at Regina, "You'll be the mama, and I'll never see you again."

"Oh, no, that's not going to happen," Regina tells him, but he's not listening.

"No, you're the mama, and I don't have a mama. I only have a papa, and the baby is trying to take him away, too."

He goes to speak, but Regina stops him, "Roland, I love you, and I don't want to replace your mama, but if you'd let me, I'd like to be your mama too."

Roland's eyes go wide as saucers, "You would?"

She looks at him then, in concern, he thinks, but she needn't worry, so he tries to convey that with a look. Roland draws back their attention with a, "So you won't forget about me when the baby comes?"

"Of course not."

"But won't you run out of love?"

"No, that will never happen, I'm going to love you forever, sweetheart."

Roland turns to him, "You too, Papa?"

"You are my son, I love you so much. Even with the baby, you are still going to be my baby."

Roland seems satisfied with that and points back at the book, so they finish up, tucking him in with a snuggle, flicking off the lights and sliding out the door.

"That went well, I think, considering before," Regina muses, and he nods in agreement.

"I think so, too. I'm much more confident he'll come around now, I was worried there for a bit."

"I mean, _I_ did, so…"

He snickers, "That you did."

"And I am far more stubborn than our son."

That is true, and he laughs. "Yeah, it's going to be okay. I think that was the worst of it."

"Henry is thrilled, if a bit grossed out." He laughs at that, remembering the face Henry made when he put it together. "Decorating the house was his idea actually, he thought Roland could use a distraction."

"He was right, that's a smart son we have."

She smiles broadly at that, "So I was thinking, Henry calls me Mom, it might help if Roland did, too. I think part of that was from him feeling left out. If we eliminate that then maybe he'll be happier about the baby."

That makes sense and he loves that, he wants them to have that relationship and knows Marian would approve. He nods as he tells her, "I'd love that."


	5. December 12th

Tink is ridiculously happy for her, she fawned over the ring on Tuesday and cried when Regina revealed they were also having a baby. She's almost as excited about the wedding as Robin, and when Regina said they wanted to do something small she jumped on the internet and filled out an application with Universal Life Church to become ordained so she could perform the ceremony.

Regina still can't believe how simple it was and that Tink can now legally perform marriages. It doesn't seem legitimate because it was too easy, but apparently it is.

She told Robin about it and he adored the idea of Tink performing their ceremony, so that was that. He of course used that as an opportunity to suggest they get married this year, as if she would ever crack on that.

The jerk then turned around and told Tink his brilliant idea and though she wasn't free on his original day, they'd now decided the wedding should happen on the 28th, as if the one day change is going to make all the difference. They are ridiculous, but she loves them—less so when they gang up on her though.

Tink gets that she doesn't want to be huge in her wedding photos, but somehow sees that as more reason to do it now, something Robin is now using to try and persuade her. Yes, she hasn't popped yet, she looks barely looks pregnant, but she doesn't have a dress and there's no way she could find one in time.

That's what she told Tink this morning in the kitchen as she drooled over Tink's coffee, and her solution had been for them to go to the dress shop on their lunch break. She swore she'd drop it if they couldn't find a dress, so Regina reluctantly agreed.

It's a dress shop in Storybrooke, and before today she didn't even think they carried wedding dresses, but there is one rack, one whole rack of them, twenty dresses in total. Seven are absolutely hideous; she's very particular about what she likes. She doesn't know exactly what she wants, but she knows what she doesn't. It had taken ten shops and hundreds of dresses tried on for her to find the one for her first wedding, a dress that was more lavish than she would want for this simple outdoor wedding, but still, she knows it will take time to find the one.

The thirteen dresses that are left at _Fairy Tale Dresses_, which probably aren't her size anyway, are not going to cut it.

But this will shut Robin and Tink up for good. As much as she loves the enthusiasm, because she really does, she feels like a killjoy every time she shuts them down. It's not as if they idea of getting married sooner isn't appealing to her, it is, but she's practical and doesn't want to rush into a shitty wedding. She'd rather wait and make it perfect. She loves them for their enthusiasm, she really does, but she hates being the spoilsport.

She nixes a couple others as she looks at them closer. One is very cute, but not for her, so it also goes in the no pile, as do all the ones with rhinestones in the armpits because she made that mistake once, and never again.

She's left with four in the end, though two are much too big but Tink claims could be altered in time. None of them are all that exciting, but she didn't expect much.

As soon as the first one is on she knows it's a no, she looks horrible in it, she looks massive and doesn't even bother to show Tink, just strips it off and grabs the other one that's close to her size.

It's a simple spaghetti strapped stain dress. There are no frills or decals, it's solid white, tight to the body with a slight flare at the legs. She didn't look twice at it before because it's quite plain, but on her it's a whole different story. She looks _good_, really really good. It's so flattering, shows off her chest and her little bump in a way that's cute and not frumpy, and is tight to her ass in a way she knows Robin will like. It would go so well with a simple wedding in the middle of the tree farm.

She steps out of the changing room, and Tink's eyes widen.

"That's gorgeous," Tink breathes, and Regina agrees. They walk over to the full length mirror where the lighting is better and oh wow, it's perfect. She loves it. It's classic, understated and so comfortable.

Holy shit, she found a dress, that means…

She'd need some kind of a cover, winter wedding and all, but this is doable, this dress fits a little too big actually, and the fabric has some give so even if she gets a bit bigger it would be fine. And really how much can she grow in the next two and half weeks? She's only going to be sixteen and half weeks on the 28th, so she won't be too huge.

They could get married on the has a dress, they have someone who can perform the ceremony, they can get a marriage license easily, Will is a freelance photographer, and a very good one, who's already agreed to take their wedding pictures on that day.

She needs some sort of jacket and they need formal wear for the kids, but that's all doable in two and a half weeks.

Holy shit, she's going to do it, she's going to say yes to Robin's crazy plan that they get married in under three weeks. It's insane, but they are doing it. He doesn't want to wait, she only did because of logistics, while there's lots to figure out, it's attainable, they can make this work. Oh god, Robin will be excited when she tells him she's in.

Tink is beaming and fawning over the dress as her mind reels. She picks up her phone with shaky hands and calls Robin.

"Hello love, how's your day going?"

She skips the pleasantries, and tells him excitedly, "Let's do it."

"Do what?"

"Get married, this year, the 28th, let's do it."

He practically squeals (Tink actually does), and their enthusiasm is infectious. She was already excited but now it's intensified. She feels giddy and warm, and can't stop smiling.

"We're getting married," he yells gleefully, and she giggles.

"We are."

"This month."

She nods though he can't see it.

"Fuck, we have so much to do!" Tink exclaims, "I'm coming over tonight to plan."

It obviously gets through to Robin because he laughs and says, "I have to get back to work but I'll join you guys later. I'm so excited, you won't regret this, love, you'll see."

"I know I won't."

"What changed your mind?" he asks, then quickly backtracks, "You know what? Doesn't matter, I don't care, I love you and let's do this."

"I love you too, now get back to work."

"I'm going to be bouncing off the walls all day now. God, I'm so happy."

"Me too. Bye, love you."

"Love you too, see you later," he says and hangs up.

She turns to Tink who mutters, "Holy shit," and she nods, laughing at the absurdity of her prior refusal to entertain this idea.

"Oh my god, we have so much to do." She can only think of one or two things, but she knows she missing a lot and needs to figure out what she's missing so she can deal with it.

"Good thing Robin and I already planned it all out."

She loves them for that. Tink is the person to help plan a quick wedding. She's on it and will think of everything. They want small, and intimate, so it won't be too hard to put together. It's the perfect way to spend the holidays, and she can't wait to ring in the new year as a married couple.


	6. December 17th

It's a snow day, perfect timing is his mind because he's off today. Will is minding the shop for the day, John in the evening, but it's not as though they are likely to be busy. It's late enough he can be much more hands-off, people who get their tree this time of year are generally pretty easy-going, and also few and far between. With the weather as it has been the last two days, he'll be lucky if he sells five trees today, making his presence wholly unnecessary.

School buses are cancelled, which means school is cancelled and he's granted another day off with the boys, made even better when Regina phones in to take a personal day.

Their little family has a busy Christmas break ahead, with the wedding and everything else, so today is a blessing, a rare day off with nothing planned, where they can just enjoy the season. He intends to take full advantage, they'd enjoyed a bit of a lie-in, once they'd confirmed everything was cancelled. Then it was family breakfast, Regina made her to die for Gingerbread pancakes she only makes in December, as they all sat together and enjoyed each other's company. He'd talked them all into a post-breakfast hike, walking from Regina's place (which he should think of as theirs, but doesn't yet) to the farm.

The boys had wanted to walk through the fields so they'd done so, walking all the way out to the trees he'd decorated for their engagement, and the site of their wedding ceremony, in only eleven days. He still can't quite believe it's real, that this amazing woman agreed to be his wife and is going to marry him before the year is up. It's all a bit surreal, and his heart turns to mush every time he remembers that it's actually happening, that he's about to marry the woman of his dreams. He loves her so much, he cannot fathom his life without her, his life between her and Marian seems so dull in comparison to how he feels now, and he wants to stay this way forever.

He's been so sappy ever since she said yes, has waxed on and on about how much he loves her and how grateful he is that they came together, how he cannot imagine his life without her, how her love has brought him more happiness than he thought was possible for him to ever have again. She makes fun of him, but gently, every time he does, but he knows she loves it, and even if she didn't he wouldn't be able to keep in how soft he is for her.

He's even more besotted now that she's carrying their child, any mention of their baby, or a glimpse of her barely-there (though she thinks is completely obvious) bump and he's gone, overcome with sheer delight and rapture.

He doesn't think he's ever quite felt like this, when Marian got pregnant with Roland there was excitement, but also great fear, after all the trouble they'd had getting pregnant he'd been waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was only when Roland reached viability that he allowed himself to relax, but then fate had been excessively cruel, had brought complication over complication and had stolen Marian from him. And maybe he has more reason to be apprehensive this time, but he isn't, he's just blissfully happy.

It's his favourite season and it's snowy, will be a white Christmas for sure, and he has everything he ever could have asked for. He'd been able to spend this day off with his family, had had an awesome breakfast, a hike, finished off with a snowmobile ride that saw them taking a break and sitting together in the snow on a blanket that he'd made fun of her for packing as the boys ran around in the open field.

They'd shared a moment on that blanket, hand in hand facing each other as his heart caught in his throat when she'd flashed him a stunning smile. He couldn't not kiss her, had leaned in so they were nose to nose but paused to whisper that he loved her, before claiming her lips for a soft intimate kiss.

It had made the boys groan in disgust, which popped their little bubble and they all headed home for sandwiches and an afternoon nap.

It's been a perfect day and it's not even finished. They didn't play enough in the snow for his son's taste, so he's not at all surprised when Roland's request, once he wakes up from his nap, is for them to build a snowman and an igloo. Roland is in remarkably high spirits, despite complaining about napping. He helps his son into his winter wear, Roland delighting over the residual warmth in his snow pants from being put in the dryer when they got home.

He laughs when they get outside and Henry explains patiently to Roland that they can't build an igloo because that needs ice. Roland is unconvinced, but somehow they come to an agreement they will build a little fort, which is all Roland really wanted to begin with. They are not building anything enclosed, he and Regina make that abundantly clear, unwavering in the face of the boy's disappointment. He remembers being that age, wanting to make himself a house of snow, but it's not practical, and the last thing he wants is their sons getting crushed by collapsing snow.

He's pleasantly surprised when it becomes a family affair, he'd known it would be him and the boys, but Regina was a bit of a wild card. She gets so little alone time, and also isn't a fan of the outdoors when it's even minutely cold. She'd far exceeded her quota already today, so he'd expected her to beg off.

But she's fully embracing it, is joining Roland in making snow angels in the backyard. They leave space for him and Henry, and once they've made theirs, it's labelled as their family. He's taken aback when Henry suggests they make a little baby and Roland agrees, but he's unsurprised when Roland insists the baby snow angel has to stay in Regina's. They've had subtle progress since Roland's meltdown over the baby, for the most part he goes along as normal, but when the baby is mentioned he either up turns his nose or says nothing. Excitement is too much to ask, though Robin does hope it will come at some point.

Roland makes himself another snow angel, then decides it needs to be bigger, so asks Henry to go over it. The result is… not great, it looks absolutely terrible if he's being honest, but Roland decides they should put a snowman on top of it. They build the base of the snowman as Regina goes inside to make them warm beverages, more likely to warm herself up. When she brings out mugs of hot chocolate, they've finished the three snowballs and he realizes what he was picturing was not at all what their sons were.

He'd wondered when they'd made the base one smaller than it needed to be if he was misunderstanding the plan, but he'd brushed it off as lack of spatial awareness on the boys part, wrongly. It was only when Henry started flattening the back edge that he'd learned they'd wanted the snowman lying down, covering the imprint that way, not rising up.

Regina laughs at him when he admits he was perplexed, as if a wrong way snowman should have been expected. He'll get her back for that, but later, when she hasn't just provided him with a nice warm beverage.

After they've built and dressed a proper snowman in the front yard, Roland gets him good with a mitfull of snow shoved right in his face. He's rather annoyed about it because Roland is the least subtle person on the planet, but he'd been distracted by how Regina had raised her arms above her head and stretched out languorously, in a way he found absolutely entrancing. It was so much so that he missed what Roland was doing, until snow hit his face his face and the cold shocked him out of his admiration of his fiancée.

His son just giggles adorably, and he has to admit it was a good hit, but he's obligated to get Roland back, so does. Then when he learns it was Henry who egged Roland on, he manages to shove snow down Henry's chest, teaching him a new trick he's sure will be used on Henry's friend's in the coming months, much to Regina's chagrin.

Regina's the only one who hasn't gotten hit yet, and she's wary as he approaches. He has some snow melting in his pocket so he can feign innocence, but she's not buying it.

She dodges his every touch, runs away from him, shrieking playfully. He loves when she's free like this, and he feels a rush of affection as he chases her around the back yard with his mound of snow he's transferred to his hand. They are both laughing, and his pile of snow is almost all the way melted when she breathlessly remarks that he wouldn't dare do that to his pregnant fiancée.

She's right, he doesn't want to cause her any measure of discomfort, and while chasing and faux threatening her was fun, he won't pelt her in the face with a mini snowball unless she's game, and she clearly is not. So instead, he drops the snow, pulls her into his body and leans in to press soft kiss to her lips.

He's utterly unprepared for the snow she shoves into his face, or the barrage the kids start throwing at him as she ducks out of the way. That minx, she set him up, played the _poor pregnant her _card to leave him vulnerable and unprepared then exploited that. He doesn't mind at all, but vows to get her back.

They end up in a snowball fight, Lockelseys vs Mills, to balance the skills. He sends all of his snowballs at Regina at first but quickly switches targets when he realizes Henry is the most skilled marksmen of the Mills family.

Roland hits no one but also doesn't get hit as Regina and Henry concentrate on decimating him. After twenty minutes, he admits defeat, and Regina and Henry are declared the winners. Roland sulks, complaining it's because he's the youngest, and when Robin points out next year he won't be the youngest Roland actually lights up a bit, realizing that the baby will be worse than him at all games and contests.

He gets Regina back, finally, as they all make their way inside for dinner. He tucks a bit of snow in his pocket and shoves it down her shirt as they enter the house, earning himself a scolding he can't be assed to care about. It was a perfect day, spent with his family, who he loves, and he's so grateful for it.


	7. Christmas Eve

They are mixing Christmas traditions this year, his and hers, managing to escape the worst of hers (visiting her mother) because of the wedding. Everything is all settled and ready to go, it all came together so easily she'd think they'd forgotten something if Tink hadn't double and triple checked everything was taken care of.

They'd found a beautiful and warm white shawl to cover her dress, that still fits perfectly, the other day, the last thing they'd needed. In four short days, they are getting married, it's still quite surreal.

For now though there is Christmas to focus on. Robin and Roland are now officially all moved in, they've been living here for the last two weeks, but without most of their stuff. Once Robin's business started to slow down he somehow managed to both pack up his entire house in a week and bring over and unpack all of the things that were needed here. To say she's impressed would be an understatement and she knows moving back to his place wouldn't be that easy, all of his furniture (minus his favorite chair that's now in her living room even though it doesn't match) is still there. He really only moved the contents of his and Roland's room, but he also packed up the entire kitchen, moving the boxes into her basement so he can start renovating.

He wants to get started right away, but she wants to enjoy their holidays, enjoy their short honeymoon without him rushing off to start renovations, and she managed to get him to agree to put it off until mid-January. It's too much with Christmas tomorrow and the wedding on Saturday. They are taking one day after for them, are leaving after the wedding for a cute little bed and breakfast one town over, and Mulan is watching the boys for them. Then they are coming back Monday morning, and will spend the rest of the break with the boys, with their family. More than one person had offered to watch the boys that whole week so they could go away, but they'd both rather spend the time they have off with their boys. It's not exactly a traditional honeymoon, but they have lots of time to fuck each other silly, and so few times when they and the boys are home all day.

Not that she's seen much of Henry today or any of the other days he's been home. He spends most of his time in his room playing video games. Yesterday he rolled his eyes at her and tried to tell her that she couldn't tell him what to do when she told him he'd been playing long enough and to come join the family. Needless to say, he'd been surly most of the time but he'd known better than to give her any more attitude and risk her taking away his computer's power cord as she'd done the last time he sassed her. Not being able to use his computer for a weekend because she controlled the power source was a surprisingly effective punishment and Henry has been much better behaved since then, but she knows her luck will eventually run out.

But not today. She doesn't even have to call Henry down, he joins them well before dinner, and helps her set the table as Christmas music plays in the background.

As they eat Henry keeps Roland engaged, asking him about what he's most excited for tomorrow—they all laugh when the answer is _presents_. Roland's enthusiasm is infectious and by the time they retire to the living room to watch Christmas movies, Henry is his younger self, completely excited about tomorrow.

It makes her smile, loving that her son can still have these moments, that he is not yet "too cool" for Christmas, something she knows some of his friends have been embracing much to their parents' chagrin.

They make it through _Elf _and _Rudolph _before it's time for Roland to go to bed, a fact he bemoans when they tell him there's no time for another movie, until Henry tells him they get to open one present on Christmas Eve.

"Really?" Roland asks, his eyes shining bright and hopeful.

She nods, "Really. It's one of the things Henry and I always do." It's a tradition that started with her father, he would always tuck her into bed on Christmas Eve, and give her a gift to open before he read her a story. It was only when she got older she realized this was always a secret not sanctioned by Cora gift and he'd done it that way so her mother wouldn't know who gave it to her.

Roland jumps up and starts inspecting the tree, and she realizes she needs to explain, "Sweetheart, you don't get to pick—"

"I want this one!" he exclaims, grabbing the biggest box, and okay that's the one with his Christmas pajamas in it anyway, the one she would have picked.

"No, Ro, Mom picks for us."

Roland turns to her, his eyes big and pleading, "Please, please, please, please pick this one."

Even if that wasn't the one she'd have trouble resisting that. "Okay, you can open that one."

"Yay, this is the best Christmas Eve _ever_!" Roland plops himself down on the floor and starts unwrapping aggressively, tearing the paper off of the box as quickly as he can, and she can't help but chuckle to herself at the enthusiasm.

"It's so big," he muses and she almost feels bad about what he's about to realize, that the box is misleading.

He opens it to find a whole boatload of bubble wrap and whispers, "Awesome," as he starts to pop one of the sheets. He hasn't even gotten to the actual gift and he's satisfied by the filler, oh to be a child again.

His mouth opens wide when he uncovers the actual gift, letting out a little shriek of excitement, then "Minions!" and holding the Christmasy Minion pajamas up for them all to see.

"Do you like them sweetheart?" she asks even though she already knows.

He doesn't answer her which is fine, instead asks, "Can I wear em tonight? Pretty pleeease."

"Of course you can," Robin tells him, "But the rest of us need to open ours. Can you give Henry that white one with the bow?"

Henry opens his much more carefully, which just seems to annoy Roland who is impatiently waiting to see what he got. Even as young kid Henry had always unwrapped meticulously, trying not to rip the paper, picking up from her a habit her mother had instilled she's been unable to break. Where it annoys her that she does it unconsciously and without thought, Henry enjoys the challenge of trying to unwrap presents perfectly.

Roland sighs, "finally," when Henry gets the paper off and starts to open the box. His are generic Christmas pajamas, she'd thought about characters but decided against it even though he still loves the Avengers. His grey _Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal _pajamas are a hit and they all laugh when Roland comments on how cute the reindeer are, not getting the joke (thank god).

"Alright, time for bed, otherwise Santa won't be able to come."

Henry grins mischievously, "Actually Mom, you need to open yours."

She narrows her eyes, she always declines opening a gift, but the gleam in Henry's eye is giving her pause. A look at Robin shows him baring the same expression and she thinks they've gotten her something ridiculous. They don't accept when she waves off with an, "I'll just wait until tomorrow."

"No, love, it's tradition," Robin urges and great, now she _knows _it's something awful.

"Fine," she huffs and Robin instructs Roland to bring the gold one he's pointing at, after Roland reaches for the wrong one.

She opens it begrudgingly, hoping whatever eyesore they got her isn't too ugly, but Henry and Robin start snickering even before she has the paper off.

She opens the box to find a flannel Christmas onesie, complete with a hood. It's hideous, not one of those cute ugly Christmas things, one that's actually awful, full of clashing colours, something she would never ever put on, but knows she's expected to. She groans when she realizes the sleeves have cuffs, making it even worse.

"Put it on, Mom," Henry urges before devolving into a set of giggles as she holds it up.

She glares at him and at Robin who is also thoroughly enjoying himself. Sighing, she decides to be a good sport and steps into it, pulling it over her grey sweater and jeans and zipping herself into the monstrosity.

She doesn't realize her mistake until Henry takes a picture and immediately uploads it to social media. Great, now her embarrassment is out there for the world to see.

She starts to get out of it but Henry stops her, "Wait Mom, Robin has one too, and we should get a group picture."

At least that will be slightly less embarrassing, so she urges him to hurry up because she's already starting to sweat with all these layers.

Robin's is not nearly as bad, is red flannel with Christmas Trees and Santa's all over and she can't help but complain, "This isn't fair you got to pick yours."

Robin gasps dramatically in offence, "I did nothing of the sort. I helped Henry pick yours but I was sent away so he could pick mine."

The boys run upstairs to change into their pajamas and she unzips the onesie and steps out of it, earning a tsk from Robin. He doesn't get it, she's already a furnace, and she was suffocating in that. As soon as she hears the boys coming down she steps back into it, zipping it up for their ridiculous family photo.

Henry uses a selfie stick she didn't even know he had to take the picture and it's even sillier than she imagined, but she, too, posts it.

Once they've laid out the milk and cookies for Santa, they put Roland to bed, then come back down to wrap Santa's gifts. Nearly everything under the tree matches and she pulls out the rolls she'd reserved for Santa's gifts and they start to wrap. Henry's getting an Iphone, which she still can't believe she let Robin talk her into, but he'd been able to get a good deal on a family plan and bonus cashback that made it not as much of a hit.

Roland's getting Catan Jr because he'd wanted to play Catan one night even though it was above his skill level. He's also getting a race track set and this alien dissection kit he'd asked for that she'd found for $6 on Black Friday.

They laugh at how much they've spoiled the boys as they wrap the Santa gifts, while eating Santa's cookies. Once they've wrapped the gifts they start to rearrange the tree so the gifts are scattered around it. They are sitting down, shuffling around the tree and meet in the middle, both holding presents. Robin smiles at her and she scootches closer, her one leg resting in his lap, the other draped over it. They both lean in and he moves his present out of the way, hers fine between them and god he's attractive, his blue eyes boring into her as she takes him in. This is their first and only Christmas as an engaged couple, soon he will be her husband and for the thousandth time since he proposed she loses herself in how much she loves him and how happy she is.

He seems similarly love-struck, is looking at her with love in his eyes as he opens his mouth to speak then shuts it again.

"What is it?" she asks, setting her gift down and tucking herself more firmly into his lap.

"I just… god, I love you so much. I can't believe we're getting _married_."

"I know," she tells him before softly bussing his lips with hers. "I'm so lucky to have you in my life."

He shakes his head playfully, dropping his own present to stroke her cheek, "I'm the lucky one, and I am so grateful for our growing family. This has been one of the best years of my life and I can't wait to experience many more with you guys."

She beams, blushing slightly and whispering, "Me too," before giving him a more lingering kiss.

This time when she pulls away she maneuvers off of his lap and sets her gift under the tree, groaning as she gets up to inspect the tree.

It's all perfect and as Robin joins her, wrapping his arms around her waist, she basks in the moment, lets herself go all soft, sappy and sentimental as she leans into his warmth. She's grateful for this, for these quiet moments, for being able to sit and savour these moments, together.


	8. Christmas Day

Christmas goes swimmingly, Roland and Henry love their gifts, and get further spoiled by all of their friends. Roland got kinetic sand from John he manages to get everywhere in short order, earning John a glare from Regina. Will and Mulan split on a scooter, and Regina surprised the hell out of him when she allowed Roland to test it out quickly in the garage. Tink gave all the boys, including him, nerf guns and they'd had a little war before dinner was served even Regina participated in.

An early Christmas dinner is something he's shared for years with John, Will and Mulan, but this year they are a bigger group, joined by Regina, Henry and Tink, and he loves it. He loves seeing how well they all get along, seeing Regina trade inside jokes with Will, and John, seeing Mulan and Henry tucked in a corner debating which video game is better, watching Roland cuddle up Tink's lap so she can tell him a Christmas story. He's so happy his circle has grown to include all of them, and that he's built relationships not just with Regina and her son, but her best friend as well. He didn't know Tink before Regina, but he can honestly say she's one of his closest friends now, and so grateful to have her here. She doesn't normally spend the holidays in Storybrooke, and she had been ecstatic the wedding gave her an excuse not to go see her family this year. He had first suggested she could do both, not realizing she wanted an out, that she dreads the trip back to her small hometown that he can't remember the name of in Idaho.

Apparently her parents, Regina's mother and his estranged father all have something in common, that their children cannot stand visiting them. In his case, he hasn't spoken to his father in some fifteen years, having cut ties as soon as he could, and even that was far too long. He gets why Tink and Regina haven't, it's a horrible thing to have to do and from what he gathers their parents are more annoying and invasive than outright abusive, though some of the things he's heard Cora Mills say to his fiancée rise to that level.

He hasn't actually met her mother, has no desire to, but he does admit it's a bit odd that he's about to marry her without meeting her mother. But Cora Mills refuses to come to Storybrooke, they have to go to her, and while an invitation was extended for her to attend the wedding she'd refused (and berated Regina for marrying a man Regina "barely knew" and one she hadn't even bothered to introduce to her mother).

He's glad Cora declined because the holiday has been absolutely lovely and he's sure her presence would have ruined it. As is, they are all sitting around the living room, various drinks in hand, non-alcoholic for Regina and the kids, (and him in a show of solidarity), all stuffed from the delicious Christmas potluck dinner they'd put together.

Regina had side eyed his outdoor turkey cooker when he'd pulled it out for Thanksgiving but knew better now that she'd tasted it's result. They'd been in charge of the meat, as he always is, and Regina made a ham for variety, that resulted in almost everyone overstuffing themselves.

As usual there are lots of leftovers, and his friends came prepared with containers, something he'd forgotten to tell Tink to bring. They can lend her one he's sure.

He probably should go clean up, he'd said he would do it and has just been sitting here aimlessly since then. It's been a fantastically lazy holiday, aside from the nerf gun fight, and he's loved every minute of it. He marvels again how seamlessly his and Regina's lives have blended together and how well their friends get along. This may not be a family in the traditional sense, but these people are their family, the ones who are there for them through thick and thin.

Speaking of their family, Regina isn't in the room, is nowhere to be seen and that is what finally gets him to get up, to go help her clean because he knows she's started even though he said he would do it.

Sure enough, when he gets into the kitchen he finds it nearly spotless, all the food has been put away, the dishes are in the dishwasher, and Regina's wiping down the counters, singing along quietly to _Thank God It's Christmas_.

She's beautiful, absolutely stunning. She always is, but more so like this, when she's so openly happy. She's been smiley and affectionate all day, clearly feeling as cheery and appreciative as he is. He hopes she feels the same in three days, when she becomes his wife.

He comes up beside her, telling her, "You didn't have to do all that, love," as he plants a soft kiss on her cheek.

She smiles at the contact, "It was not a bother, and besides you all looked practically comatose in there so I figured it was me or no one."

"Are you feeling better?" he asks, remembering how she'd been the only one not to eat her face off, after some unfortunately timed heartburn.

"Yes, much better. It was probably good in the long run, I can't eat big meals anymore it always makes me feel sick so I think that heartburn saved me from myself."

"As long as my girls are okay," he says, pulling her into his chest for a hug, his nose burying in her hair.

She sinks into him, then pulls away so his one arm is still against her waist but they can look at each other, and arches a brow at him. "Your girls?"

Oops, he's been trying not to put too much hope in them having a girl—or at least expressing it out loud. He will be thrilled either way, is thrilled by the sheer fact that they are having a baby, but he just can't stop imagining a little Regina running around, a sweet-hearted, dark haired, dark eyed baby that would steal his heart just like her mother did.

He shrugs because he can't backtrack now and admits, "I always picture a girl."

Her voice goes low, "I do too. A boy would be more than fine but…"

"When can we find out? Assuming you want to that is."

"Oh I do," she assures then thinks for a second, "I think it's twenty weeks, I'll have to ask at my next appointment."

"When is that, I'd like to go, if you'll have me."

She smiles, "I'd love that, and I don't know off the top of my head but it's in my phone, so remind me later."

"Remind you of what?" Tink asks as she enters the kitchen, making a beeline for the bottle of wine on the table.

He answers, "We were just talking about the baby, and if we were going to find out the sex."

"Oh, are you? Because I'm going to start a baby pool and I need to know if I should include that or not. Also I already bet Mulan and John that it's a girl, so _please_ have a girl."

They all laugh at that and Regina deadpans, "I'll do what I can, if they tell me it's a boy I'll say nope, give me a girl Tink needs her money."

He interjects playfully, "Hey, no conspiring against my friends like that."

Regina just rolls her eyes, and Tink laughs when he sticks his tongue out at her in response.

"Didn't realize you were marrying a child," Tink comments and he dramatically grabs his heart.

"You wound me."

Regina shakes her head and whaps him with the towel in her hand, "You are such an idiot sometimes."

"Yes but I'm _your_ idiot," he tells her while grinning at her dopily.

"_That _you are," she says and gives him a quick chaste kiss. "Why don't we all go join the others, see what kind of trouble they are getting into."

Their trip into the living room shows everyone gathered round the coffee table, Roland is on Mulan's lap, Henry and John on the sofa, leaving Will to sit on the floor as they all in engage in a boisterous round of Uno.

It's such a merry scene and as Regina tucks into his chest, her arm around his waist, it gets even better. It's been a perfect holiday, with all their friends, and he never wants it to end.


	9. December 28th

She slept poorly without Robin by her side. It's silly, and she'd told him that, but he'd wanted to heed tradition and spend the night apart so she'd reluctantly agreed. She'd spent the night tossing and turning, both unable to get comfortable and too amped up to sleep. She was like an overexcited child unable to sleep before a big event. She'd finally fallen asleep somewhere around two, and was up by seven.

Surprisingly, she's not at all feeling her sleep deprivation, she has far more energy than she normally would, impatient excitement filling her veins. Time seems to slow to nearly a stop as she gets her hair and make up done and she tries to suppress the urge to jump and yell.

Her look is nothing fancy, she's going for a muted understated one, her hair down, natural makeup, and when it's all done and she's the look in full for the first time she nearly gasps. She knows she's beautiful, but she doesn't often feel it—hot or sexy sure, but pretty is not something she often thinks when she looks at herself, but today she can see it. She actually feels the stunning Robin always tells her she is. She's going to knock his socks off with this, cannot wait to see his reaction.

It doesn't disappoint.

Rather than trying to orchestrate an aisle and somehow not seeing each other in the outdoor scene, they decided Robin would pick her up and they would walk up to Tink together to start off the wedding. Not exactly traditional, but not much of this wedding is.

She figured he'd drive, maybe a rent a fancy car, but when a horse drawn carriage pulls up in their driveway she realizes she should have known better. Robin's a romantic, and this is perfect.

She opens the door as he comes up, and his jaw drops as he takes her in. He's stunned, in the best of ways, just as she wanted.

"Wow," is all he can say and she beams broadly as he leans in for a kiss. "I am the luckiest man alive."

She is going to ruin her make up if he keeps talking like this, her heart is so full, and she is overwhelmed by how much she feels for him, and how happy she is to have this day to celebrate their love, to get married. While really it changes nothing—they will go on with their lives just the same—it feels like it changes everything.

He doesn't stop staring as he helps her into the carriage and they take off for the farm. He puts his arm around her, his hand resting on her bare arm. "You look incredible, but are you going to be warm enough in that, love?"

She nods, it's warmer today than it has been all week, it's above freezing and thank god for that because it was freezing rain yesterday, and the warmer weather today has melted that slippery layer away. She pulls the shawl more tightly around her, hooking her hands into the holds and showing him how it actually covers her arms, it just looks best with her arms out and she'd wanted him to see the full thing.

They sit cuddling and muse about how happy they are as they ride along, her anticipation growing with each and every minute. She starts to shake, she's that antsy, but when they start see their friends gathered around a beautiful evergreen arch Will and John had built for them as a wedding gift, it also goes away and she feels a sense of serenity she hadn't expected. This is where she is meant to be, what she is meant to do, and she needs to revel in and experience each moment, not waste them anticipating the next one. In this moment, she takes in this incredible scene where they are about to get married, that's picture perfect and pristine. The snow around the arch mostly untouched, save for a little trail of footprints from their friends and the boys.

Henry and Roland look so handsome and grown up, it makes her want to cry. Roland is cute, but Henry looks far too mature—he looks good, but he's more an adult than a child now, and this outfit makes it apparent. When she looks back at Robin she realizes all her boys are in matching grey suits, and she's glad she let Robin take charge of the boys attire.

"Do you like it?" he whispers and she nods.

"I love it, it's perfect."

"Good," he says as the carriage stops and he releases her hand. She adjusts her shawl as Robin opens the door, steps out and offers her his hand.

This is it, this is the start of something fabulous and precious, their new beginning at each other's sides for the rest of their lives.

Everyone cheers as she steps out, and Will moves in closer, taking shot after shot of them approaching where they are about to be married.

It's dazzling and dizzying, she feels like she's in a happy, hazy fog—like this can't be real, like she can't be this lucky, but it is and she is.

She can't stop smiling as Robin leads her down to the centre of the arch where Tink is waiting for them so she can perform the ceremony. They stop underneath it and Robin faces her, grabbing both of her hands in his, while smiling broadly at her. He gives her hands a soft squeeze, a silent 'Are you ready?', that she answers with a soft smile. He looks deeply into her eyes, and she knows he's thinking the same thing she is, this is it.

Tink opens with a few poignant words about why they are gathered here, and how happy they all are to be there to witness the union of the Mills and Locksley families. This is about so much more than just them, they'd wanted that to be clear. Yes, it's a celebration of their love and marriage, but it's their families coming together, it's the relationships between everyone here that make their lives so special. They wouldn't be them without all that, wouldn't be here.

Regina has a sudden flash of nerves when Tink turns it over to them to say their vows. She hopes he likes what she has to say, wishes for a moment that she was going first over him, because she knows he's going to bring her to tears with his heartfelt words.

He looks a bit nervous too, which calms some of her nerves. He squeezes her hands in his again, taking a long breath in as he looks deeply into her eyes, then flashing her a dazzling smile that has her belly warming.

"I am the luckiest man alive to get to do this, to get to marry you. It's crazy to think that it's only been a year, that after so long knowing each other as mere acquaintances we took the plunge into dating, and now into marriage. I had given up on ever having this, then you came to the farm for your tree looking incredible and suddenly everything changed, and I am so so happy that it did."

His eyes are still locked on hers and it's like everything else shifts away and they are the only two people in the world, as he continues his subtle undoing of her with his confession of love.

"You are the strongest, kindest person I know. I am so grateful to have you in my life, to get to wake up beside you every day, to be able to raise our children together. I know that I can come to you with anything, can rely on you no matter what. You inspire me Regina Mills, you make a better person, you push me, challenge me and make me laugh. You are my best friend, my better half, and I cannot imagine my life without you. Pardon the cheesiness but everything was dulled and muted before we got together and you've brought back the vibrance, the colour. I didn't realize all that I'd been missing until you opened my eyes and showed me. Before you I was always waiting for what's next, not stopping to enjoy the moment, just letting life go by, sort of like living life in fast forward. Now that I have you, I enjoy the moment. Every moment. Today seems like it's the start of a new journey, but you already have my heart. Falling for you wasn't falling at all; it was walking into a house and knowing you're home—" Her eyes water at that, the sentiment hitting her hard because she feels the same and the eloquence of it makes her heart swell. "—I love you and I cannot express how happy I am you've agreed to spend your life with me…"

He starts to get choked up, which only makes it harder for her to fight off her tears. God, she loves this man, with her whole heart, and then some.

"I promise to always see you with the same eyes that I see you with at this exact moment, even when we are old and gray. I vow to honour you and respect you, support you and encourage you. I promise to dream with you, celebrate with you, and walk beside you through whatever life brings. I vow to laugh with you and comfort you during times of joy and times of sorrow. I promise to always pursue you, to fight for you, and love you unconditionally and wholeheartedly for the rest of my life."

How the hell is she supposed to speak after that? That was elegant and flawless. Every word she was going to say has left her head, and all she can think about is how happy she is in this moment. She lets herself sit and savour it, to just drink him. He's so handsome, but it's so much more than that, he shows her how much he loves her each and every day, and those vows were only one piece of that.

She takes a deep breath, reaches into the little pocket inside her shawl that houses the cue cards she'd hoped she wouldn't need. Her voice is shaky as she starts to read. "Love is a word that is much too soft to describe the fierce, infinite and blazing passion that I have in my heart for you."

She remembers the words now, so lets her hand return back to his, cards still clutched in it just in case. "You also brought a light to my life I didn't know I was missing. Our relationship is full of more love and support than I could have ever asked for. I have never been more adored or felt more safe than I do with you. The trust that we have, that we have worked so hard to protect, is invaluable. So thank you."

She lets out another shaky breath as she tries to keep it together long enough to get this out. Robin's eyes are shining with unshed tears, and if one falls she will lose it. "I promise to love, respect, protect and trust you, and give you the best of myself. I know that together we will build a life far better than either of us could imagine alone. I promise to help shoulder our challenges and celebrate all of our little wins. To tell you every day how much I love you and appreciate all that you do. To continue to learn from you and to follow the examples of patience and respect that you continuously give. To try my hardest, to step away from my stubbornness, and accept that I make mistakes and that I am, to my dismay, not always right."

There's a laugh at that from their friends and Robin smirks, biting back the snicker that's on his lips.

She raises a brow at him and continues, "With that said, as your wife, I will never keep score, even though I am _totally_ winning. And most importantly, today, in front of our closest friends and family, I take you as my husband. Because this _is_ a great love story. It doesn't end here with us getting married, this is just the beginning and I cannot wait to experience the rest of my life with you by my side. I love you."

He's looking at her his eyes so full of love it takes her breath away. She almost leans in to claim his lips without thinking, but then Tink asks, "Robin Jacob Locksley, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"And do you Regina Ann Mills take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

She's barely taken her eyes off of Robin, but a quick glimpse at Tink shows she is barely keeping it together. "With the power vested in me by the internet, I now pronounce you—"

"Wait," John bellows, "You forgot the rings."

That's right, they did, too caught up in everything.

Tink's cheeks flush, "Oh, right. Please exchange wedding rings."

Robin goes first, placing a plain silver band engraved with _my love_ on her finger beside her engagement ring. She does the same with his, her fingers shaking softly as she does. He sends over a silent 'Are you okay?' and she nods because she is, is more than okay, is having the time of her life.

When they finish, they turn to look expectantly at Tink, who looks over at John and asks, "Anything else to add, sir?" making everyone laugh.

"No, I'm good. Get on with marrying them."

"Wait," Roland exclaims and she heard Henry hiss at him to shut up as he continues, "Can I stand up there with you guys? I wannabe in it too."

Someone starts to tell him no but she stops them, by inviting Roland and Henry up with them to share the moment. "We've been blessed, not just with a partner to love, but with our boys, who mean the world to us. It's only right that they share this moment. This union is not just about Robin Locksley and I, it is the official melding of our families into one. So, Roland Arthur Locksley do I have your permission to marry your father? To become another mother for you?"

Roland nods eagerly, "Yeah, of course, I love you."

"I love you, too, sweetheart."

Robin picks up her lead, turns to Henry and asks, "Henry Daniel Mills, do you give me your permission to marry your mother, to love and cherish her and you, through thick and thin, to call you two my family and love you _both _forever."

She sniffles as her heart explodes, she knows she started this but god, that speech.

"You do, and I love you, too, Robin."

Tink takes that as her cue, "Now, with the power vested in me by the internet I now pronounce you a married couple. You may now kiss."

And that they do, it's perhaps a bit too intense in front of their boys, but she feels so much for him and she pours that into the kiss, lets it spin out and linger until one of their children lets out a long drawn out, "ewww," and they break apart laughing.

It was perfect, the little ring mishap leading to a moment with the children that made it even better.

* * *

One of the many benefits of their smaller is wedding is the fact that they are finished up and checking into their room at the quaint little Bed and Breakfast by seven. It still feels so surreal, that they got married today, and his heart so full it's bursting. He married Regina Mills today, and it was perfect.

Before they left Will showed them some of the pictures he'd taken and they took his breath away. She was (and still is) absolutely stunning, made his heart stutter as he'd taken her in, in that gorgeous dress and coat thing. She'd been beaming all day, from the moment he first laid eyes on her, through their heartfelt vows and I do's, the pictures, and the short reception with the boys and their friends.

Even as they drove to this B&B he could feel the happiness radiating off of her, her hand catching his more often than not, as they revelled over the fact that they actually got married today, that she's now his wife and he's her husband, that they've committed in front of all their friends and their children to spend the rest of their lives together. It's not about ownership, it's about that commitment, that they've sworn to love each other for the rest of their lives, that they love each other enough to take the plunge.

As they wait to get their key from reception, he can't help but marvel yet again, how lucky he is. He's been married before, has felt a love this strong before, and he knows some people never have this, and he's been blessed to have it twice. He's not a faithful man, but if he were, he'd be thanking god for this, for this perfect day, for this gorgeous and amazing woman who's agreed to be by his side through thick and thin, to love and cherish him through all of life's challenges. He loves her so much it's almost overwhelming, and he knows she feels the same, which just makes it all the better. Her vows had brought him to tears, had only solidified his sense of absolute gratitude and glee about their marriage. He knows no matter what he'll never ever regret this, he loves her deeply, truly and they are going to spend the rest of their lives together.

She's still in her dress as they wait for their key and he has half a mind to keep her in it forever, to keep this day alive for as long as he can, but he's also desperate to take her out of it, to see her laid bare and open to him, accepting his love in the one way they only share with each other.

It's so much more than the physical, than being attracted to her—which god knows he's mad for her—it's who she is that makes her special, that made her his wife. While she's Miss America material, that would mean nothing without the incredible heart, soul and wit she's shown him this year. He can admit her looks are what drew him in initially, but it's everything else that made him love her, made him want to commit to spending the rest of his life with her.

They get the key to their room and make their way up the stairwell in comfortable silence, followed by a Bellboy who is no doubt enjoying their scant luggage as he carts it up the stairs. This is the first day of the rest of their lives together, and he intends to cherish every single moment, to show her just how head over heels he is for her.

He would carry her over the threshold, but there's that Bellboy to think of, so instead, opens the door, following her in with a hand on her waist. The man drops their luggage in the corner as they tip him and bide him goodbye, both staring dopily at each other, before focusing on the room.

They have a giant bed they'll be taking full advantage of, but better yet, a jacuzzi tub, one that's oddly in the middle of their living space, but then, it's just the two of them and it's not as if the plan wasn't to spend the rest of their weekend naked and together.

As soon as they hear the door shut and know they are alone, they are drawn to each other like magnets, pressing their bodies tightly together as they kiss and kiss in the way they couldn't earlier.

It's electric, the contact, has his body warming and raring up as he thinks about what's to come, and what has come, how they'd committed today to loving each other forever.

He remembers his vow to enjoy every moment, to not get caught up in what's to come and swears to himself he will do that now, will not get lost in slacking his lust, will show her with every move and kiss how valuable and precious she is, will show her how much he loves her.

He promises to savour her this time, to take advantage of this uninterrupted alone time they have and make the most of it, and tells her as much, which has her lips curling up into a satisfied smirk.

He ever so slowly strips her, taking time to admire each and every inch of skin that's exposed to him. First off is the coat thing, then she turns giving him access to the clasps along the back of the dress. He kisses down her spine, as he undoes hook by hook, relishing the soft sighs she lets out at the contact.

The dress starts to fall as he undoes the last few but she holds it on, turning once she's confirmed he's finished, letting him watch as it falls down her chest, revealing a white lace bra that barely covers anything, but he still cannot wait to get off of her. He will wait though, he has other plans, and when she steps out of the dress, he steps in, claiming her lips as his hands find purchase on her hips. He keeps the kisses slow and lingering, a low heat, just a simmer as he whispers between their lips how happy he is and how much he loves her.

It's a sentiment she returns in kind, then her hands fist at his shirt, pushing off his jacket as delicate hands undo his shirt buttons with the same measured care he'd given her dress. There's something so intimate about it, about the way she looks up at him with shining eyes and shy smile as she takes her time undressing him. When she frees the last button, she seeks out his lips, breaking off into soft pecks down his jaw as she tugs his shirt the rest of the way off.

He sighs softly when her fingers slide under his belt, pulling his undershirt out, then over his head as best she can. When his bare chest is revealed to her, she smiles, whispers, "Gorgeous," then kisses all along his exposed skin, slowly descending down. Her intent is clear and it makes his blood rush south, has him growing warmer, has his cock springing up as she approaches his nipple nibbling at the soft skin before taking it between her teeth for a soft bite.

"God, that's… feels so good, love you, my wife," he pants as she does it again and to the other side.

She chuckles softly into his skin, whispers, "Tell me more," and he tries his damndest to put into words how each and every press of her lips to his skin makes him feel, how full his heart is, how this all just reminds him how much he loves her and how happy he is.

It's perhaps too sappy for foreplay, but she asked, and doesn't seem to mind at all that he's gone sweeter over sexier. It fits the mood, this slow pace and gentle undoing of each other. This is so much more than just sex, this is emotion, a physical expression of the deep love they share. It's about the connection, the intimacy, being naked in every sense, open and vulnerable.

It hits him hard just how special this is and he hopes she feels it too. He's making it his mission to show her how valued she is, how precious she is to him. He will shower her with affection until she's had her fill, basking in the moment, making this day that much more unforgettable. He's had her each and every way, knows her body, knows how to rile her up and bring her over in under ten minutes. But that is not what they are doing tonight, this is a slow burn, a gentle savouring.

He's hard for her when she gets him out of his pants, but he doesn't let his need get the better of him, urges her onto the bed, on her front, and draws his hands all over her body, his lips finding every inch of her skin. He lavishes her in compliments and kisses, when he tries to flip her, she switches with him, lays herself on his back, as her lips glide behind his ear, down his neck, his back, making him shiver and moan.

He doesn't think he's ever had someone pay quite this much attention to him, but it doesn't feel selfish at all, it feels very much like they are in this together, that this is as much for her as it is for him. He lets himself go to pieces under her attentions, flips and lets her explore the other side, finally losing his boxers, then fighting the urge to hurry her along when she laves kisses along his thighs.

He stops her before she can take him in her mouth, because he will lose himself to the lust if she does that. She takes his refusal in stride, lays on her back and lets him explore her in the same way.

She's sensitive and super responsive, her reactions lighting him up even more, as he continues to lavish her front with kisses, spending some extra time on her breasts that has her moaning deeply, her hands fisting in his hair. She tries to urge him on, but he will not be deterred.

By the time he reaches her thighs, she's squirmy and so wet it shows. He slides in a finger and moans himself over how ready she is, and she twitches and gasps as his mouth approaches her, sucking softly everywhere but that swollen bundle of nerves.

When he finally takes it in his mouth and sucks gently, the high moan she lets out has his cock twitching. He does it again, and he can tell she's close already, intends to bring her up then sink into her, but she has other plans. Her hands push him away, drawing him up for a kiss as she urges him inside her. It's an invitation he cannot refuse and he sinks into her, pausing when he's pressed in deep to tell her that he loves her.

"I love you, too, husband."

The endearment makes him smile, has him pressing a soft kiss to her brow, before pulling away to look at her and say, "I can't believe you are my wife, I'm so lucky."

She pulls him down for a kiss, only answering when it breaks, "_I'm _the one that is so lucky."

He shakes his head, knowing they could go back and forth about this when there's no need, they are deeply in love and it's not a competition.

He starts to move, slowly, steadily, delighting in the way it makes her jaw drop and breath deepen. He steals kiss after kiss from her as he loses himself in the feel of her. This slow pace isn't enough for them, but the closeness and the intimacy of it is addictive, and they let the sweet ache build and build.

He wants to come, but also doesn't want this to end. It could be better for her though, he knows that so flips them, managing to roll her on top of him without slipping out of her. She keeps up the slow pace, rolling her hips against his, looking sexy as sin as she writhes atop him. He drinks her in, savours the feeling, as his thumb strokes lightly over clit.

It proves to be exactly what she needs to send her reeling, and she starts to move faster, moaning as he fucks up into her from beneath, biting her lip and throwing her head back as he firms up the pressure on her clit.

"Come for me," he urges, "show me how good it feels."

"With me," she gasps, her eyes screwed shut, then flying open to lock on his as she tells him, "I want us to come together."

He nods, kissing her as her muscles start to squeeze him as she fights to hold on. "Let go, love, my wife, I'm there, too. Let it all go."

"Love you," she pants, and god, does he ever love her. She's so open and so free right now, as she comes apart for him. She moans and clenches as she starts to come, and those delicious spasms take him over with her. He spills in her with a great relieved groan as bliss overtakes him, flooding his senses as he revels in her, the smell of her, the feel of her all around him, the whispered words of love, and her heavy breaths as she collapses on his chest.

He had thought he'd bring her up again and again, but as they sit baking in the afterglow he knows that was more than enough for tonight. He's never felt this close to her before, and having her cuddled up in his chest like this, trading soft kisses, is the perfect end to this perfect day.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone for reading this :) We've reached the end of this little sequel but it's not the last we will see of these two. I still have more I want to write both before and after this, so keep your eyes open for more of this verse and thanks again for all the love and support of it. **


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